Draco Malfoy and the Genie
by neepagummapu
Summary: Draco and his Slytherin cronies decide to take a vacation before they go back to Hogwarts for their last year. First stop - Istanbul, Turkey. What will happen here? And how will it change his life?
1. Nightmares

Chapter 1 - Nightmares

"I can help you, Draco." Dumbledore tried to make me see that he was willing to help. He knew that he could help but getting help from Dumbledore would mean risking too much. His family was in danger. He may not have a very close relationship with his parents, but they were still his family. They were all he had.

Dumbledore is a very powerful wizard and that is the reason 'He' wants him dead. Maybe, he could hide us till the war ends. I started lowering my wand. But it was too late for that. I had to choose to do it or not do it, right now. Meanwhile, the other death eaters came to the Astronomy tower as well and started calling me a coward and other names. Aunt Bella (although, I hated calling her 'aunt', I had no choice) stood next to me and started coaxing me to do it. Aunt Bella always scared the shit out of me. Her mere presence was enough to send chills down my body.

Out of nowhere, my Godfather, Severus Snape, came to my side and made me lower my wand. Dumbledore looked at Severus and cried, "Severus, please."

"Avada Kedavra." Snape cast the spell without any emotion on his face. I watched as Dumbledore started to fall of the tower. I wanted to run towards him and stop him from falling over. Though I knew, he was dead. Since my first year in Hogwarts, he has been here, always smiling knowingly. Though, he was sometimes 'an-out-of-the-mind-wizard', he kept Hogwarts safe. Without him, Hogwarts is vulnerable.

* * *

Next, I felt every cell in my body scream out in pain as yet again, I was hit by the Cruciatus Curse. I was so beyond screaming out loud now. I was tired of screaming now. I wondered how, I didn't lose my mind, even though, I had been hit by the curse several times. Sooner or later, I would have to shift to St. Mungo's next to the Longbottoms' beds.

'He' was angry because I was not able to complete my task and that Severus had completed it for me. Initially, 'He' was angry with Severus for doing it, but when he realized his greatest obstacle has been eliminated, he rewarded Severus with a pat on the shoulder and his creepy smile and I was attacked with curses. While, I was being tortured, my parents remained as emotionless as possible. But the pain was evident in their eyes. I guess, no parent can watch their only offspring being tortured into insanity no matter how distant they are.

* * *

My mother was telling me when something but I was not paying much attention. I was still a little jittery from the torture.

"What? I'm sorry, I was not paying attention."

She looked at me with a lot of sympathy in her eyes, I'm not sure if I liked that, "The Dark Lord has accepted our offer to use our manor as his Headquarters."

I was flabbergasted on the inside. After he almost drove me to the point of insanity and my parents offered him our manor. My father was doing everything he can to remian in his good books. I wanted to say something but I didn't bother voicing my opinion. No one would listen to me anyway. My home didn't feel like my home anymore.

* * *

We were sitting at the long dining table, everybody in the inner circle was there. They were discussing about Potter being taken to a safe house. Nobody was had accurate information. But 'He' chose to believe Severus' words in the end. They began planning accordingly. My mind was elsewhere, my eyes kept going to the person 'He' captured now. The state of her bloodied body told me that she had already been tortured. She was a professor at my school. 'My School' – I'm not sure if I can call Hogwarts that anymore. Not after what I had done.

'He' used the Killing Curse on her and her lifeless body fell right in front of me. I may know how to control my emotions but this just was too much for me to take. I only turned 17 a couple of days ago. I let out a little shout. 'He' narrowed his eyes at me like he was disappointed in me. He turned away to continue planning. I knew, I would be tortured after the meeting. For now, I looked at the professor's eyes. They looked at me, accusingly. I had barely managed to say my sorry when 'the vile snake' devoured her like she was a rat.

* * *

I was taken on a raid with a few of the 'most valued' death eaters. We were at a muggle family's home. They did the usual thing, they hurt the people, torture them to their hearts' content and then kill them. I looked at some of the photos on the mantel. This looked like a happy family. Why are we doing this to them? The children – a girl and a boy were made to watch, as their parents were being tortured. I want to do something. No child should be put through this. I walked over to the death eaters holding the children – Rowle and Macnair.

"Let go off the children." I said with all the confidence I could muster.

"And why would we take your order, coward?"

"Just hand over the kids. Nobody has the right to do this to children."

"They are filthy, it doesn't matter whether they are children or no. Muggles are an abomination. They should be eradicated." Macnair said.

"OH YA! AND WHO ARE YOU TO DECIDE THAT! YOU'RE NOT GOD. YOU DIDN'T MAKE THE WORLD. YOU DON'T GET TO DECIDE. NOW YOU BETTER LET THE KIDS GO." As I said these words the lights in the rooms started flickering and the objects in the room started flying around and hitting the nearest death eater. By then the torturing had stopped. My father, Aunt Bella, Uncle Rodolphus, Rabastan looked stunned. It was the first time something like this had happened to me while we were on a raid. Something just snapped inside of me when I saw those kids terrified.

First time ever, the 'most valued' death eaters failed in their mission. With me, using uncontrollable magic at that time, it was sort of impossible to go beyond the damage they had already caused.

* * *

The 'so-called Golden Trio' was brought to the manor by the snatchers. I knew, it was them, the moment I laid my eyes on them. I still lied to Aunt Bella. By this time, I had come to a point were I wanted it to get over. And if Potter was the only way, then I wish he gets out of here as soon as possible.

Aunt Bella sent Potter and Weasley to the dungeons and began torturing 'The Gryffindor Princess' – Granger. Her screams sent chills down my spine. I knew, I was going to have nightmares about this from tonight. She carved the word 'Mudblood' on her left forearm. My mind went back to the first time I had used that word. I never felt guiltier in my life. Her screams were filling my head. I wish, somebody would do something to help her or else I might just end up doing something that may result in me dying. Death felt better than living a life like this.

She kept screaming.

* * *

I woke up with a start. This was my nightly routine for the past two weeks. Potter defeated 'Him'. 'He' is gone now. But the damage was already done. The cuts too deep, to be healed. Now that the war was over, all of my nightmares comes together and played in my head, every night. The last two weeks, the 'still alive' sixth and seventh year students helped the professors in restoring the Hogwarts Castle.

Headmistress McGonagall had insisted that the sixth and seventh years from the four houses to come and help with the restoration. Someone told me that she doing this only to promote house unity. Se even paired or grouped people from different houses on different tasks. It may not have ended the past animosity instantly but it was definitely a new beginning.

I never truly believed in the whole pureblood discrimination. For me, it was just a way for me to get my father's approval. I needed him to say that he is proud of me. Not sure, if he's approval still means anything, since right now, he is sitting in Askaban waiting his trial. The punishments were either 'Dementor's Kiss', long-term in Askaban or living in the muggle world without your wand and have all sorts of charms and jinxes put on you know so you cannot do wandless magic as well.

People wanted Kingsley Shacklebolt to become the new Minister of Magic but he said he wanted to head the Auror Department, as of now because they were expecting a lot of retaliation from some sections of the society. So, the second most popular person was voted to be the new Minister of Magic – Mrs. Hestia Jones. Before, she used to work in the Magical Law Enforcement Department. From what I have heard, the woman can actually get things done. She is tough.

I came out of my thoughts and I realized I was not in my room. Then I remembered, I am at the Wizton, Istanbul, Turkey. As soon as the castle restoration was completed, my Slytherin cronies decided it was time to take a vacation for a bit, to relax. No matter what people say, we all went through a lot. We lost a lot too. We hurt too. We just don't show it off for everybody to see.

So, here we are – Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Gregory Goyle, Adrian Pucey, Daphne Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, Tracey Davis and me – Draco Malfoy, trying to get our mind out of the war and trying to be normal teenagers for once. Turkey is just the start of the trip. We plan on going to other places as well.

But, I wonder can anything be normal anymore?

* * *

**Hey! this is my first fanfic! I hope, you will read it and find it interesting enough to continue reading. Please review and let me know what you think. I will also like it if you follow the story or mark it as your favourite. I'm also open to suggestions!**

**I appreciate the fact that you have taken the time out to read the story I'm writing...:-)**

**Neepa :-)**


	2. Talks and Laughter

Chapter 2 : Talks and Laughter

I could not sleep much after I woke up. I stayed in my bed thinking about various things, wholeheartedly wishing I could fall asleep again. After the first ray of the sun entered my room, I got up because I had no more patience. I brushed my teeth, took a bath and got dressed quickly. We took the Villa at the Wizton because we all felt much better having each other close rather than stay at different rooms on different floors. The Villa was close to the beach as well.

The Villa was painted in cream colour. There were pictures and paintings hung on the walls. The furniture in the Villa was in warm, earthy tones. The Villa is charmed to provide the number bedrooms and bathrooms required by the guests. The bedrooms were all on the first floor. All the bedrooms lead to the same balcony. The ground floor had a sitting room with a few shelves of books. The books were mainly about the History of Magic and it's evolution in Turkey, there were some fiction novels by some local authors and they also kept some muggle novels about the various legends and myths that were famous in these parts. That should be fun. The ground floor even had a dining room and a kitchen in case the guests felt like cooking. The kitchen would be stocked with supplies at the request of the guests.

I picked up a book called 'The Arabian Nights'. I decided to take it to the porch at the back and read it there. The back door of the Villa opened to the porch that had some beach chairs. The beach was right in front of me. It just looked beautiful. The blue water and the sand, they just looked magical together. Not that I have never been to a beach before but there was some sort of serenity in here that made me feel good. I settled on one of the chairs and opened the book. I soon found out that this particular book was a collection of short stories.

I read a story called 'Aladdin and the magic lamp' about this boy named Aladdin and how he found a magic lamp with a genie in it. There was a black and white illustrations of important incidents in the stories, occasionally. The genie looked pretty terrifying. I wonder how Aladdin didn't get scared of him. The rest of the story was pretty good. I read a couple more stories – 'Ali Baba and the forty thieves', 'Sindabad, the sailor' and a few more. But I really liked Sindabad, the Sailor a lot.

I started thinking about how almost all these stories had at least one genie. I heard before, that in Asia particularly the countries on the south part of the continent and the countries on the border of Asia and Europe believe in genies and their legends. In Britain though, genies are considered to be a myth. We are magical folk but there are some things that even we don't believe. From what, I heard genies have not been spotted or sighted since the beginning of the first century A.D. That's a long time! But no one in the European Wizarding world will believe in the existence of genies.

I started hearing noises in the Villa. Finally, my friends got up and got ready. They were at the dining room when I got to them. They were deciding on the breakfast they wanted to order. Blaise was the first to notice me.

"Hey Draco, good morning! Where were you? You weren't in your room when I went to call you for breakfast." Blaise somehow always seem to pick up on my mood changes before anyone else. That's why I call him my best friend, I guess.

"I was on the porch, reading." I gestured to the book in my hand.

He snorted and said, "You were reading 'The Arabian Nights'? Didn't think muggle literature for children interested you so much."

I just shrugged. "I got up early and I didn't know what else to do."

"Draco, you could have woken us up or at least one of us." Said Pans. Even though, Pans and I had broken up a long time ago, sometimes she is still possessive about me. I don't like that much. I keep wishing that she moved on already.

"I didn't want to disturb anybody. Besides, I'm still allowed to have some alone time."

"What do you guys want to do today? I was thinking we should go and check out some of the sights." Daph asked quickly before Pansy or I could say anything more. I looked at her thankfully and she nodded at me in response.

"We should go do some shopping as well." Tracey said very excitedly. What is it with girls and shopping? While the girls agreed with equal excitement, the guys refused at once.

"No way, Trace! We are not taking you girls shopping. Who suggested that we bring the girls along with us?" Theo asked. The girls glared at him. Millie who was sitting next to him gave him a smack on the hand.

"You girls will suck the fun out of the entire trip if we go shopping." Greg said rather harshly. Since the war ended, either Greg would be too silent or be too angry for anyone's liking.

"That was mean, Gregory." Millie said glaring at him. Greg cowered under her glared. Greg never said anything when Millie would send her death glare at him. Greg was always different in front of Millie. I wonder if there's something going on in between them.

Ad cleared his throat and said, "I agree with Daph, we should go sight seeing and relax. We can keep shopping for another day, Trace."

The discussion went on for a while. We were still deciding what to have for breakfast. We checked the menu. Whatever we wanted to order, we just had to point our wand at the name and our order goes to the kitchens. Everybody finished ordering and we dove right back into the discussion about what to do today.

I had enough of this discussion. We were getting nowhere. "I think, today we should just lay low. The beach is really beautiful. We could swim in the sea or just sit by and relax. We could try to some of the restaurants in the hotel for lunch and dinner. Maybe we could hit the club in the evening and party and drink to the end of the war. Tomorrow, we start sight-seeing, shopping or whatever."

Everyone thought about what I said. "How about we go to watch some belly dancers in the evening, I heard they are absolutely exquisite." Blaise asked. He got a look from the girls. "What are you girls looking at me like that for? We are here, we might as well catch at least one performance. So, we know what it's all about."

The guys agreed instantly, the girls came around eventually. We decided to stay at the beach during the day. There was a knock on the door.

"Ahh! Breakfast is here." I was really starting to get hungry. We asked the person to enter. The waiter was here with a trolley filled with food. As soon as, the waiter left we started eating. While eating we talked about all the things possible. For the first time in months, eating felt good. With 'Him' at home, no matter how good the food looked and tasted, it just didn't feel good. Now, I felt like I was freed from all those things that worried me. I was here with people who wanted to heal as well. I reminded myself to thank Blaise later, for suggesting this trip.

After breakfast, we went to our rooms to change into our beachwear. At first, we just put the towels on the sand and sat on the beach, each doing their own thing. Some of us were reading, some were just watching the beach, some just sunbathing. After about an hour or so of human silence, Daph suggested we go into the water and have some fun.

Daph, Blaise, Trace, Ad, Millie, Theo and Greg went to play in the water, leaving Pans and I. Pans was sunbathing, I was reading the book I picked in the morning. She kept looking at me and it was making me uncomfortable. "We are never going to happen again, are we?" She asked so quietly, that I almost thought I imagined it.

"I'm sorry, Pans. I don't mean to hurt you or make you sad. The war changed a lot. It changed everything. I can never go back to who I was before. I feel so lost. I need to find myself, first. I really hope you find someone who can appreciate you. It's just not me, Pans. I really want to be friends with you."

She looked like she was struggling to hold her tears back. "I'm really trying, Draco. I thought once the war was over, everything would go back to how it was before. But you're right. It's changed a lot in me as well. I feel like all the things we were made to believe in, have no relevance at all. I don't think about you like that anymore but sometimes I guess, I just can't help it. It just comes out, it'll go away with time I guess."

"I know, it will, don't worry. Don't ever forget, I love you, Pans but as a friend."

"I know, I love you too, Draco." She brightened up a little and said, "So, how about we go into the water now?"

I smiled, "That sounds like a good idea." We got up to go where the others were having fun. When we very closed to the water, I carried Pans, which completely shocked her. She kept shrieking in my ear to put her down. By then, we reached the others.

"As you wish, Pans." I said with a mischievous smile and dropped her in the water.

"Dracooooo…I'm going to get you for this." She shouted in annoyance but no one took her seriously and started laughing. We kept splashing water on each other, playing silly water games that the girls came up with. We raced each other on the beach. The sound of laughter was making me feel human again.

* * *

**Please read and review! Thank you again for taking the time out to read the story. Also thank you to the people who follow the story or mark it as one of their favourites.**

**Neepa :-)**


	3. Traveling and Shopping

Chapter 3 : Traveling and Shopping

Last night, I woke up after having my usual dose of nightmares. The best part was - I was able to back to sleep after I woke up. I woke up again when the sun was up and shining brightly. It felt really good to wake up at a godly hour. I quickly got up, brushed my teeth, took a bath, got dressed. I wanted to check if anyone else got up. When I opened my bedroom, I didn't have to wonder if the others were up, I could hear them all talking. It sounded like they were discussing about last night.

"Last night was so good! Boy, can those girls shake their bellies! They were just so beautiful." Blaise said while I was going down the stairs.

"I was so shocked at first! They were so graceful even when they were just walking. There was one girl who was so beautiful." Daph said while looking completely dazed for a moment.

"Whoa, Daph! I didn't know you were interested in girls." I said with a grin on my face. Blaise and Ad nodded like they agreed with what I said.

She gave me a bored look, "Just because I compliment another girl, it doesn't mean that I'm interested in her. Just so you know, I'm very comfortable in my body so I don't really have a problem admitting that someone else also beautiful."

"Totally agree with Daph! I actually got to speak to one of them. Her name was Sarah. She had black hair and eyes. She had the most amazing brown skin tone." Pans stated in an 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone. My eyes widened at her comment on the girl's skin tone. Looks like, I'm not the only one.

"How did you get to speak to one of them? And why on Earth didn't you introduce us to her? Your friend here could use all the help he can get." Theo said with a mock sad expression on his face. Trace swatted him on the hand.

"Typical guy." Trace said.

"I was looking for the washroom and I happened to bump into each other and we started talking for a while. Turns out she started belly dancing when she was fifteen. She started professional dancing when she was 19. She even offered a beginners' lesson, if I was up for it." Pans said.

"Wow, Pans! We should go. It would be fun to do something like that for a change. Something, we can't learn back home." Millie said thoughtfully. Immediately Daph and Trace agreed with her.

"Did she tell you how to contact her?" Daph asked.

"She told me that we just go back to the place we went to last night and ask for her anytime of the day. They, apparently, have a huge dance studio at the back, where they practice." Pans stated gladly because she was the one who knew something for a change.

Were the girls really going to do it? It would be damn sexy. When I saw those girls dance, my mouth dropped open for a little while. I never knew there were people who could dance like that. The way they moved made me wonder if they had any bones in their bodies. Their bodies moved like fluid.

Apart from watching belly dancers, we even watched some of their famous folk dances. We had some really delicious Turkish delicacies for lunch and dinner. We even went out to party for a while after we watched the belly dancers. The girls literally had to drag us out of the place to go partying.

Today, we were going sight seeing. The manager of the hotel already told us that he would arrange portkeys for us so we could go to all the important places in Turkey without really leaving Istanbul. The portkeys we were using were supposed to be new kind of portkeys. Though, the portkeys activate at a particular time for us to leave, to a definite destination. The return time was not set on them neither was the destination set. All we have to do was activate it and set the destination before we wanted to leave. Today, we will be exploring Istanbul. The manager told us they had apparition points near famous places but since we didn't really the country well, it was best for us to use portkeys.

We decided to go to the Topkapi Palace first. It was huge. It was magnificent. The architectural just blew me away. The rest of my friends were as impressed as I was, maybe even more. We quickly went to the important places in the palace. Then we moved to Yildiz Palace, Tehfur Palace. Daph made sure that we got pictures clicked. We had a tour around Maiden Tower and Galata Tower. We went to Hagia Sophia, which was originally a church, then was converted to a mosque and finally converted into a museum. How interesting! We visited many places. It was a tiring day. We got back to our villa after we had dinner at a local restaurant.

In the next few days, we visited Ankara, which is the capital city, Antalya, which is probably one of the oldest cities in the world. We visited Izmir, Rize, Mardin and some other important places. We even did some of those activities that the muggles call water sports and outdoor sports like rafting, wind surfing, paragliding and free fall parachuting. I really liked rafting and free fall parachuting. These two activities gave me a rush. I even like the hot air balloon ride. Up in the air, I felt like a bird. I felt a strange sense of peace up there. What surprised me a lot was how the girls seemed to love these activities. They seem determined to try out every new thing possible. I really can't say much for the guys though! Greg didn't bother to go rafting with us. Ad and Theo screamed like little girls (no offense) during free fall parachuting.

We decided to stay in Turkey two more days. The girls really wanted to shop and were getting impatient. Also they were finally going to take that dance lesson. After breakfast, we left for the Grand Bazaar. It was supposed to be one of the oldest markets in the world. Daph and Pans went gaga over clothes while Millie and Trace went crazy over jewellery and accessories. We became temporary porters for the girls. Obviously, we could not shrink the bags in front of muggles. I wanted to get my mother something. Before, I left for the trip, Mother asked me to get something from each country we were about to visit. I looked around for something that would depict the country.

I found an old antique shop in corner. I told Blaise that I was going to that shop before I left the group. My mother collected antiques. I knew she would like it if I got her something that would have some historic importance in Turkey. I knew, it was a magical antique shop because the muggles would turn around if they got anywhere close to the shop. What if I bought something that was cursed? I will just have to get it checked for curses. There was an old witch at the counter. She smiled kindly at me when she saw me entire the shop. I smiled back.

"May I help you, son?" She sounded so kind.

"I'm not sure. I'm looking for something for my mother. She like antiques."

"Would she like the oldest wizard chess board and it's pieces?"

"She is not a wizard chess fan. But I would definitely like to see the game." She showed me the game. It was old, alright! The board was made out of marble and the pieces were decorated with semi-precious stones. I could see that some of the pieces had lost some of the stones. "How old is this game board?"

" I believe this one was made sometime in between 1357-1375 according to an old turkish dialect inscription at the back. This particular dialect was famous at that particular point of time."

I really liked that thing. It was beautiful though it looked a little incomplete with the missing stones. "I think, I'll just keep looking around."

"Sure, when your done looking here in the front, I'll take to the back, there are a lot more things at the back."

I nodded and continued searching. There were all sorts of thing around. Miniatures of different rulers and famous wizards of the country, big statues, turkish rugs, old robes and old books. I had no clue what some of the things were. "I think, I would like to go the back now."

She smiled and opened a door just next to the counter and went in. I followed her. She had just turned on the light. "I'll leave you to it. Don't think about stealing, boy. I've anti-stealing charms put on this place."

I snorted at that comment. "Do I look like someone who would steal something?"

She gave a small laugh, "No, but better safe than sorry, right!"

I never heard someone say that before. "Yup, I guess, you're right." I said doubtfully.

She nodded. Just before she left the door, my eye caught something. It was a wooden rectangular box. "What's that?" I asked pointing to it.

She looked at what I was pointing at and said, "It's a jewellery box. I belonged to a very famous and powerful Turkish witches, Amina Manin. The box is charmed to let only the owner use it. It can be opened only by the person who owns it or by someone who has been given permission by the owner to open it."

I looked at it with interest. The box was carved very intricately. Some of the carvings were so detailed that I was sure that it could never be made with the naked eye. I opened it carefully and the inside was covered with faded red velvet material. I also found out that an undetectable extension charm was put on it. The inside of the box was also carved but was not as detailed. I liked it. But I still wanted to look around to see if I find something better.

I found a black bottle sort of a thing. The bottom of the bottle was round except the part that touched the shelf it was put on. That part of the bottle was flat. Then the bottle started tapering. It looked like a long neck and it had a stopper at the top. "What is that?"

The woman looked at it and said, "It's a madira(alcohol) bottle. It was used to keep wine in it. At least that's what we think it is. I think, it belonged to a merchant some time in between 15th or 16th century."

"Wine was kept in such a bottle. I wonder how many times that thing would have gotten stolen." The bottle was carved with really very, very ancient runes. The runes didn't look like they belonged to 15th or 16th century. It looked much older. Yet, the bottle shined like it was new. In school, I liked ancient runes. I even did some research on 11th and 12th century runes for extra credit in the fifth year. I was not able to translate it but I could figure out a few words here and there. These were definitely much older than my research. The bottle was decorated with some precious and semi-precious stones. It definitely looked interesting. I would love to find the translation the runes.

By now, the lady had gone back to the front. I went to pick up the bottle. I touched the runes of the bottle. Immediately, I pulled my hand back. I felt a surge of power and magic running all through the bottle. I never felt such power before. Even 'His' power would mean nothing in front of this power. Curiosity filled each and every part of my being. I picked it up, I could still feel the magic. Thank God, I didn't imagine it. I held it in one hand and let the fingers of my other hand run through the runes.

I wonder, what is inside? First of all, was something really inside it? What if it's something dreadful? Or what if it is something good? If it was good would it be such amount of magic be in a bottle? Damn, I wish I could translate the runes. Should I open it?

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**Please read and review. And thank you for your time.**

**Neepa :-)**


	4. Pouts and Dance

Chapter 4 : Pouts and Dance

I decided to buy the box for Mother and the bottle for myself. When I go back home, I'm going to research on the runes. Other than Potions if there's any other subject that can keep me interested, it is Ancient Runes. The runes on this bottle really interested me. I went back to the front to pay for them.

"How much for both?"

"249 galleons and 50 sickles." The lady said.

I gave her 250 galleons. "Keep the change." I said with a smile.

She put the things in a bag and said, "Thank You." She picked a little dragon, it looked like it was made of metal. She put it on my palm. "For good luck!" It was really small. It was a quarter of the size of my palm. The Dragon spread its wings and flew a little until I asked him to come back and it actually listened. I thanked the old lady and left the store. Now I had to find the others. This was going to be difficult. I had no clue where they would be now.

When I checked in the store I left them in, the lady in the store told me that they went left. So, I kept going left. Too bad, I could not send them my Patronus and ask them where they were. I, finally, find them walking ahead. They were talking and laughing. I have seen anyone of them being so carefree before. Back home, we all are so governed by all the Pureblood rules and etiquettes. We can't even laugh too loud or too freely. I'm not even sure what that means. Even at Hogwarts, we can't completely be ourselves. Since we are from Pureblood families, we are expected to be in a certain way from a very young age. But yes, Hogwarts is the one place where we are freer than we are at our home. We at Slytherin house have an unspoken agreement – What happens at Hogwarts, stays at Hogwarts.

So, if we happen to stumble upon a dirty secret of a fellow Slytherin, we make sure it doesn't reach the families. It's difficult to trust the other Slytherins but we have no other choice. Who knows, what our parents would do if they come to know that their kid was secretly dating a Hufflepuff or even worse a Gryffindor. Yes, we keep stuff away from our parents but it is only because we have no idea how they are going to react. They could do anything.

I remember after the war ended almost all who are in Slytherin house put their foot down. They didn't want to follow rules that seem to have no basis. They refuse to discriminate between Purebloods and Muggle-borns. A lot of the students watched their classmates being tortured or being murdered, that shook their beliefs. The whole war was traumatizing. The only reason the Slytherins didn't fight in the final battle at Hogwarts was – the enemy was someone from their own families. Their fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts, siblings and other relatives. How can you hex your own family?

Some of the Slytherins were sort of forbidden by their parents to come back to restore the castle. They were still upset about 'Him' being vanquished. This drove them to the point of a rebellion. They were shocked that their parents still felt that way. They were all going to be dead and all they could be sad about was that 'he' was vanquished.

When we decided on this trip, the girls were told not to come with us by their parents. But they knew, they had to do this. They needed a getaway as much as we needed it. We all felt so trapped in our homes. Daph was furious when her mother told her she could not go. They both had a very heated argument. Her mother even threatened her that she would not get any part of her inheritance if she went. Daph didn't care. She was off age now so all her accounts and trust accounts belonged to her and her parents could not remove the money from her accounts. It was a similar story with Pans, Millie and Trace. But here we are and we are having the time of our lives.

"Took you long enough." Trace said as she saw me walking towards them.

"Ya, well there were a lot of things so I got confused."

"Let's get something to eat, now that we found Drake." Greg said.

"You always think about found, don't you?" Ad said as he put his hand around Greg's shoulder. We all snickered. He went red in embarrassment. We quickly a found a restaurant and ordered our food.

"Yeah, we are going dancing after this." Millie sounded completely excited.

"You girls are going after lunch?" Theo asked.

"Yup, I sent Sarah a message from the hotel before we left." Pans said looking completely smug.

"Can we join you girls?" Blaise asked with his most charming tone. As much as I wanted to go back to the villa and check out the bottle, I didn't want to miss this as well. We all started asking the girls to take us with them as well.

"No! We will be learning. It would be too weird to do it in front of you guys." Daph said.

"But we all have been childhood friends. We've seen each other doing really embarrassing things before. This time doesn't have to be different." I said with the trademark 'Malfoy Smirk'.

Millie swatted my hand and said, "So, you think we are embarrassing ourselves. That's so mean. Now you guys are definitely not coming with us." The girls nodded. By then our food was served. The rest of the lunch none of the guys said anything, we just made a puppy dog face and kept pouting while eating.

At first, the girls kept talking like nothing happened and ignored us. Slowly, we started shoving our pouts and puppy dog eyes at them. They began getting really nervous. Obviously, they can't resist our pouts just like we can't resist theirs. Time to taste you own potion, girls!

"Will you guys just knock it off?!" Pans said after a while. We shook our heads.

"You guys are making us look bad. The waiters are starting to look at us." Daph said in a low voice. We shook our heads.

This went on for a few more minutes. "Please, guys!" Millie begged. Our answer was only our pouts.

"Okay, fine! You guys can come with us. Stop tormenting us now!" Trace gave in. We smirked.

"Trace!" Daph, Pans, Millie said in unison.

"It was getting really irritating and annoying." Trace said in her defense. We were all laughing now and the girls agreed to let us come. We finished lunch and left for the dance studio. It was not very far off from the Grand Bazaar. It took us thirty minutes to reach. We decided to walk because the weather was good.

We reached 'Style Dance Studio and Pans went to the reception to tell the girl sitting there that she wanted to meet Sarah. She came back to sit with us. A few minutes later, a girl with the description that Pans had given us walked into the room. And indeed she was beautiful. I stared at her for a few seconds as she turned to Pans to talk to her.

Pans said, "Sarah, hi!"

"Hi Pansy. How are you? So where all have you been?"

"I'm good." She started giving her a small description about our trip so far. It made us a little uncomfortable that she had not yet introduced us to Sarah. Finally, Pans turned towards us and introduced us to her. Blaise brought her hand to his lips and kissed her. This seemed to make her blush. "I hope you don't mind I had to bring my friends as well. Daph, Millie and Trace were excited about the lesson."

"More, the merrier! Do you boys want to learn as well?" She asked with mirth in her eyes.

"Nah! We just want to watch our friends learn something new." Theo said with equal mirth in his eyes.

"Very well then. Please follow me." Sarah said.

She led us to a room that had mirrors on one side. There were a few girls who practicing their dance moves. Sarah introduced us to Afrin, who had hazel eyes and light brown hair, Jemima, who green eyes and raven hair with red highlights and Nazneen, who had blue eyes and sandy brown hair which almost looked blond.

Sarah led Daph, Pans, Millie and Trace into another room so they could change into tracks so it would be easier for them to practice. We were talking to the rest of the girls when the others came back. It was odd to see the girls wear pants. Pureblood family girls have a lot of dress code rules and wearing any type of pants, trousers were not allowed. But during this trip, they broke all the rules. Ad, Blaise, Greg, Theo and I went to sit on the bench near the door. We watched as the professionals showed the beginners some supposedly easy moves.

The beginners were trained in waltz and ballet all their life so we expected them to pick it up pretty easily. But no! The first few times the beginners moved, I had to pinch my thigh just so I don't start laughing. I looked at the others, it seemed like they had to make an equally strong attempt to stop themselves from laughing. But when Trace dashed into Daph in an attempt to move her body fluidly and both of them fell on their butt, we could not control any longer.

The girls looked at us when we started laughing. Slowly, the look turned into glares. But we just could not stop laughing. Even though, we were thrown out of the room after that, it was worth it. The laugh was good. Gosh, I had laughed so much in the past few days, my jaw was hurting from all the laughing. It still felt good though.

After what felt like hours the girls came out with Sarah. They were done for the day. They seemed to be beaming. Wonder if they got the hang of it now. When they saw us, they looked a little angry. They told their goodbyes and started walking towards the exit. They didn't even give us a second look. We caught up with them just as they got to the exit.

They glared at us. "Oh come on! Even you would have laughed, if you would have seen it from our eyes." I blurted out saying. The guys nodded in agreement. The girls looked thoughtful for a while, like they were pondering on what we said.

"I have to say, it was funny." Millie said in a low voice.

Pans nodded in agreement and said, "It was, you know what I mean." Daph and Trace looked at Pans and Millie like they had betrayed them. They looked at each other for a while and they sort of giggled.

"I guess, you right. It was funny." Daph finally agreed. "But no more laughing about this." She said this pretty sternly.

"Lets go back to the villa. I'm really tired." Trace said. We all agreed.

Finally, I get to observe the bottle! Feels like my birthday and Christmas came early this year!

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**Please read and review! Thank you for reading!**

**Neepa :-)**


	5. Genie in the Bottle

Chapter 5 : Genie in the Bottle

After a heavy dinner, I sat on my bed, in my room looking at the bottle. The villa started filling like home now. What if the runes on the bottle are some sort of a warning. As much as I hate to say it, I wish Granger were here to help me translate the runes. I'm sure she's the only one who will be successful at translating them. And the fact that the entire bottle was buzzing with magic would just be an added bonus. How bad can it be? I can just shut the bottle if it lets out some foul stink. I have to take the chance. I took a deep breath trying to push away all the doubts to the back of my head. I pulled the stopper and immediately white coloured vapours came out of the bottle.

My first thought was to put the stopper back on the bottle. As I was about to put the stopper back, when I heard something right next to my bed. I looked up and I was shocked. Standing was a girl wearing grey top and blue denim shorts and dark blue shoes. Her top had a picture of a man who was wearing a red and blue suit from top to bottom and had a spider on his chest. She had dark eyes, I was not sure if they were black or brown. She had black hair with bangs or fringe, whatever you call it. She even had blue highlights in her hair. She had brown skin like chocolate, on second thoughts, maybe caramel. She couldn't be more than 15 or 16.

Her mouth was wide open. She composed the expression on her face when she saw me observing her. She spoke in a soft voice, "Namaste, main aapki genie hun. Main aapki teen khwahishey puri kar sakti hun." She paused and looked at me. I was completely blank. I had no idea what language she was speaking in.

"What are you saying?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, angrezi." (Oh English.) She said and she held up her index finger towards me like she was asking me to wait for a moment. She flickered between her solid form and vapour form for a few seconds. She was in her solid form again. "Hindi is my defeat language. Do you prefer the UK accent or US accent?"

I wondered for a second if she really asked me that. "UK accent."

"Hello. I'm your genie. I can fulfill three of your wishes. But there are a few things you can't ask me to do." She paused to see if I was following. I have no clue what my face portrayed but she chose to continue. "Like, I said there are conditions. First, don't ask for three more wishes or infinite wishes. That is so lame!"

I chuckled, "I suppose there were people who wished for that."

"Wow! That's your first whole sentence since I came out of the bottle. I was beginning to wonder if you were mute. And yes, you have no idea how many times people have wished for it."

"Go on." After the first rule, I was actually looking forward to find out what the other rules were. Though, she spoke with a tone of excitement, her eyes showed boredom. I wondered how many times she did this.

"Second, you can't ask me to make someone fall in love with you. Love is supposed to happen naturally." As she said that small pink hearts started to appear around her in a heart shape and she fluttered her eyes in a dreamy way. Boy, is she dramatic! "If I made someone fall in love with you then it will not be worth it. The person will only have the illusion of being in love you."

"Third, you can't ask me to bring someone back from the dead." She shuddered as she said that. "It's really a very disgusting thing. Trust me, you don't want to mess with the dead. Even if someone is brought back from the dead, they are never themselves. Some of the people who are dead have accepted their faith and are at peace with it, so when you bring them back they get really angry. The dead who are not at peace with it are happy at first but later on they just get angry. It's against nature to disturb the dead and I totally agree."

"Fourth, don't ask me for world peace or remove poverty or remove hunger and other such wishes which are directed at the betterment of the world. Genies can't do that. God would be really angry with us if we even attempted to do it." Who in their right mind would ask for world peace? Maybe Potter. Now that the war is over, I guess, I would have asked for world peace too.

"The fifth one is sort of my personal rule." She sounded a bit hesitant here. This one was going to be interesting. "Please don't ask me to hurt someone or kill someone. When I say hurting, I mean any form of human/animal rights possible. You will ask me to do it, I will have to do it, well because I'm a genie. The thing is after it is done, you will be happy but it will be with me for the rest of my life. My guilty conscience will kill me, figuratively of course. Genies are immortal. So, you can imagine how long I will have to live it. It's just too painful."

"I didn't know genies were allowed to make their personal rules." This amused me.

"We can't. It's not like we can be killed to express our opinions." She winked at me.

"So, what's your name?" I didn't know why I asked her that.

She looked at me like she could not believe it that I asked her that. She expressions changed from confusion to excitement to happiness in a matter of seconds. She started jumping up and down. "You asked me my name? You're like the only mortal who has asked me my name in so long. Oh my God! Before this only little kids who found my bottle asked me my name!" She shrieked. I quickly cast a 'Muffliato' on my doors and windows, not wanting to wake any one up.

"You're a wizard." Her voice was cautious now. "I thought I sensed magical energy around but I didn't think you'd turn out to be a wizard."

I just nodded in reply. I didn't really know what do say when she sounded so suspicious. "So your name?"

A little bit of the happiness returned to her eyes. Her eyes are so expressive. Her eyes speak before even she does. They are beautiful. "My name is Pari. It means fairy in Hindi."

The name sounded nice. "So, you're from India?"

"More like the Indus Valley Civilisation."

I stared at her. Is she serious? "How old are you?"

She smiled like she knew something that I didn't. "I'm 16."

Liar! She said she was born during the Indus Valley Civilisation time. I was getting a little uncomfortable. I can't even believe I'm going to ask this next question. It's not like it's a question you ask someone you just met. "How long have you been 16?"

She laughed. "A very long time. I'm guessing roughly around 2500-3000 years. I stopped counting after a while. It was too depressing."

My eyes were wide. I could not believe what she was saying. Was it the stories getting to my head? Is this a stupid dream? I got up from the bed. For a second, I felt bad that I didn't offer her a seat. Even though, she is a genie she is still a woman and a Malfoy never forgets his manners. But under these unusual circumstances, I'll be forgiven for my lack of manners. I poked one of her cheeks with my index finger. She gave me the oddest look. "I'm sorry, I'm just checking if I'm having some sort of a dream."

She snorted, "You think, this is a dream?" She then did the most unexpected thing ever. She wrapped her hands around my neck, stood on tiptoes and kissed me. Her lips were damn soft. I didn't want this to stop. My hands wrapped around her waist on their own accord. I pulled her closer. I wanted to deepen the kiss. It almost seemed like she heard my thoughts so the next thing I knew, I was deepening the kiss. She skin was soft and warm. I felt like I could stay in her embrace forever.

I have no idea how long we were kissing. Slowly, we ended the kiss. I brushed my lips against hers before finally stopping. She pulled back so suddenly and looked embarrassed. "Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system and also I guess I was successful in making you believe this is not a dream."

"What do you mean 'get it out of your system'? Is this a way you greet all your -?" I had no idea what do say.

"Well, you're the hottest master, I've ever had. I mean, I've never meant anyone like you. I just had to know how that would feel. And no, I didn't 'greet' my other masters like this. This is my first kiss. I guess my hormones might have finally kicked in."

"First kiss! You've been here since the whole 'Before Christ' era and you didn't kiss anybody till now? No pressure, Draco" What I didn't realize was, I said it all out. When she laughed, I knew, I had.

"Why pressure?" She asked. I could sense that the intrigue in her question.

"Well, the girls who normally wait long for their first kiss have a lot of expectations with it. And you have obviously waited too long, if it was not good then you would be really disappointed."

She laughed, I realized I liked the sound of her laugh. "Trust me, I liked it. I have nothing to compare it too. It was just like I had imagined it. Don't worry too much about it, Master." This was the first time she called me 'Master'. That felt odd.

"You don't have to call me master. My name is Draco Malfoy. You can call me Draco."

She looked a little uncomfortable. "As in Dragon. As per Genie law, Section 49, Rule 1, I'm not allowed to call a master by his name."

"Genie law? Is there no law about kissing masters?"

She gave me a naughty smile, "Well, what they don't know, can't hurt them, can it?"

She surprised me. "Is there seriously a genie law?"

"Yes, there is. Why is it so heard to believe? Don't you wizards and witches have a Ministry of Magic?"

I was shocked. "How do you know? About the Ministry of Magic?"

She smirked at me. She looked so sexy when she smirked at me. I wanted to kiss her again. "When you let me out, I did mention I'm a genie. Trust me, when you've been here so long, you get to know a lot of things. Genies know everything, be it the magical world or the non-magical world. I also heard about the wizarding war that recently ended in Britain. Horrible war! And the reason for war was so pointless. Must have been hard for you."

"Does that mean, you knew who I am before I introduced myself?"

"No. We don't keep information about each and every person on the planet. But we know the things that affect the people. We may keep information about certain people who really do make an impact. Now that I think about it, you made some impact during the war. Your name is familiar, Master."

"That doesn't disgust you?" I asked, feeling a little nervous.

She gave me a soft smile, like she knew I would ask that. "Master, I don't sense anything bad from you. Every person has a different aura. Your aura may not be completely light but it's not completely dark either. But that's what makes you human, mortal. You may have made some bad decisions in the past. But it is only you who can make people see you not the same person you used to be. And from what I can sense, I know you are making an effort."

For now, I was comforted by her answer. "May I ask you something else? I've been wanting to ask this since you appeared but you kept shocking me and I've been asking something else completely different."

"Sure. You don't have to ask for my permission, Master."

"Aren't genies supposed to be dressed differently? Don't they have a different dress code? You seem to be very fashion forward."

She huffed. "We are not backward when it comes to fashion. We embrace fashion. We move with times. There are certain older genies who don't approve of the fashion but they don't really stop us. If you really must know, when you summoned me, I was at a party in Genieland, hence I'm dressed like this."

"Older Genies? Party?Genieland? Too much information for one night."

She just laughed. "You really want to see me in my genie uniform?"

"I guess, yes. At least then I will find some semblance in between the stories and reality."

She huffed and flicked her thumb and middle finger on her right hand and immediately she clothes changed. She was now standing in a dress, which looked pretty similar to a belly dancer's costume but it didn't have any slits to show off the legs. She was wearing a dark blue top that ended right below her lady parts. The sleeves were short and made of light blue sheer material. She wore pants. The part that covered her lady parts was again in dark blue and the rest that covered her thighs, knees and calf muscles were made of the same light blue sheer material on the sleeves. She wore pointy shoes made of silver but had a bit of blue. She had a small dark blue cap with two silver lines on the bottom on her head. She wore a veil of the light blue sheer material, which covered everything from her eyes down.

The veil made me concentrate on her eyes. Her eyes stood out though she was wearing a very revealing outfit. She had brown eyes, dark brown eyes. She was looking at me as well. "The uniform is always in the genie's favourite colour." She said.

"Hmmm…Change back into whatever you want. You don't have to wear this if you don't like it."

She smiled and flicked the same fingers she used before and immediately her outfit changed. Now, she was wearing the same top but it looked a little too big for her and different shorts. She changed into what looked like soft cotton shorts in dark shade of grey.

I could not hold my curiosity any longer and asked her, "What is that picture on your t-shirt?"

She looked at me like I had asked the most dumbest question possible, "Duh! He's Spiderman! He's my favourite superhero. He's really cool." When I didn't say anything, she continued saying, "You wizards really need to check out some non magical literature. Although, Spiderman wouldn't really come under literature. Have you ever read a comic book?"

I shook my head. What she is talking about? How can a man be a spider? Or how can a spider be a man? Was she talking about some Animagus? Do muggles know about animagi? Highly impossible! I think, being here so long has really made her go bonkers!

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**Please read and review! Thank you for your time! The story got it's first follower today, thank you so much! That definitely motivated me with today's chapter! Feeling very elated!**

**Neepa :-)**


	6. Pari's Story

Chapter 6 : Pari's Story

I told her she could sit on the bed if she wanted to. She looked thankful and sat on the bed and folded her legs under her knees and places a pillow on her thighs. On the pillow, she placed her elbows, placed her palms on her cheeks and looked at me intently. She looked like she was figuring something out.

"So, what is your story?" I asked. I was curious to know about her. I've no idea why she fascinated me. She was so different from the book descriptions of her that I was having trouble believing her. I thought if I knew her story, I would be able to judge if she is telling me the truth. She did appear out of a bottle, what other confirmation did I need.

"Story?"

"You know, where you were born, how you became a genie, etc."

She thought about it for a few minutes. Her eyes kept moving from side to side, deciding from where to start. Did I mention her eyes were really captivating? "How much do you know about the ancient civilisations?"

"Enough. There was Chinese Civilisation on the banks of Yangtze and Yellow River, Egyptian Civilisation on the banks of Nile, Indus Valley Civilisation on the banks of Indus and Mesopotamian Civilisation on the banks of Euphrates and Tigris. They are the earliest settlements by human beings."

"Right. The thing about these civilisations is that they begun earlier then most people's assumptions. All of the civilisations, had magic in them. Everybody was born with magic at first. Some chose to embrace it while some chose to ignore it. The ones, who ignored it, ignored it because they couldn't find a way to use their magic properly, so they suppressed it. Eventually, as the generations kept suppressing it, the magical power in them reduced until there was hardly any left. But once in a while, the successors of these families are born with magical power that may have skipped a few generations. Should they choose to embrace it, the power increases and passes on to the next generations as well."

"That explains the muggle-borns in the wizarding world." I said, finally understanding how suddenly a muggle comes to possess magical abilities.

"Muggle-borns? What are they?"

"In the wizarding world, there are certain wizards and witches who have parents who have no magical abilities."

She smiled. "The ones, who embraced it, learned through a lot of 'trail and error' experiments and figuring out best ways to use the magic they had in them. In this case, magic grows stronger with every generation as each and every generation has come up with some new way of doing it. After a while though, the magic in these families became stagnant due to the lack of innovation. Tell me when was the last time somebody made a new spell in the wizarding world?"

I actually never thought about this before. "I don't remember."

"Exactly. Nothing new has happened in magic. In those days, the people kept trying something or the other. Wand magic came into existence much, much later. Earlier, magic was used with the help of the four elements – air, earth, fire and water. Then it evolved into other things. It evolved so much that people could transform into animals if they wanted to."

"What does all of this have to do with your story?"

She smiled and said, "I'm coming to that. So, I come from a family, which embraced the magic in them. My father and mother were magically really strong. In fact, when they were together, it made them almost invincible. Together they were ten times stronger than when they were by themselves. I was born in the part of Indus valley, which lies in India today. That's why I set my default language as Hindi, you know, to show solidarity to the place I was born in."

I nodded in understanding and she continued. "I practiced my magic with my parents. I was able to learn really quickly. I was really powerful. By the time, I was 10 years old, people respected me as much as they respected my parents. I was able to do magic that would put an adult in tears because they were not as strong as I was. As I kept growing, I started becoming a little arrogant. I never used my magic to do anything bad. But I started to feel I was better than most people. In retrospect, I wish I was as humble as my parents. My older brother and little sister were strong but they were not as strong as I was. I started to think I was even better than them. My parents tried to rein me in. But I thought they were jealous of my growing power and were stopping me from realizing my true potential."

I never thought her story would be this way. She was born into a family like a normal girl. I wonder what happened that she is stuck like this forever.

"The people who were settled in the Mesopotamian side always sent people around to find out if there were other settlements around. They were always interested in knowing about different settlements and trade with them. Mesopotamia had close trade relations with the Egyptian settlement and the most northwestern part of our settlement. Their sorcerers often visited the rest of our settlement to find out about our magical practices. We liked to know about theirs as well. So, during one such visit, a sorcerer, Abu Fir, was invited to our home for dinner. He was as old as my father was, maybe a few years younger, give or take. After dinner, we all sat discussing magic when out of the blue, he asked for my hand in marriage. I was taken aback. My first thought was how could someone who is as old as my father ask me to marry him."

"As I mentioned earlier, I was very vain. After a few seconds of silence, I started laughing. I very haughtily told him that I would not marry him. My family respected my decision. In those days, nobody forced a girl to marry someone. But apparently, things were done differently in Mesopotamia. He got really angry and he felt really insulted. He asked my father how he could let a girl talk to him like this. I didn't even understand why he said that. But I guess, my father understood and he apologized saying that I was just a child and I didn't know anything."

"It got a point where it broke into a war of words. I got really angry and told him to back off. If there was anything that made me really angry it was someone who insulted my parents. I may have my own arguments with them but no one messed with my family. I told him that he was too old for me and I would never marry someone like him. That only seemed to add fuel to the fire. He said if he could not have me then nobody would. Before anyone realized what had happened, he cursed me and I was getting sucked into this bottle." She said pointing at the bottle. She had tears in her eyes.

If there's anything that makes me really uncomfortable then it is a girl crying. I didn't know what do to. Clearly, it had been a long time since she spoke to someone about her past. Unsure, if what I was going to do was right or wrong, I wrapped my arms around her. At first, she seemed to stiffen up for about a second. But grief overcame discomfort and she sobbed into my chest. She seemed so fragile at that moment. She looked like just any other girl.

When she was able to get a hold of herself, she said, "It was the ultimate punishment. He knew…he knew, that I had wholly dedicated myself to knowing more about the power of magic. I had a certain amount of greed in me. I wanted to be the most powerful and strongest sorceress in the Indus Valley. He also knew about my powers."

"But how is this the ultimate punishment?" I understood that being immortal had its ups and downs. But I had the feeling that this was not about being immortal.

She snorted and up at me into my eyes and said, "Master, you don't know the power I have in me. I can move mountains with a flick of my fingers. I have all the power, I dreamt of having while I was still a mortal, but I can't use it. I can use my powers to a certain extent for myself. Other than that, I can't use magic until my master asks me to use it."

"That does sound brutal. So what happened after you got trapped in the bottle?" I couldn't stop myself from asking. I must have sounded really insensitive. But I needed to know.

She didn't look offended, thank god! "You know, you're the first one ask me my story." As she said that she held on to me tighter. Though, it felt strange, I liked it. She let go before she started talking. "Well, the Genie Council contacted me." To say I was shocked would be an understatement.

"There's a Genie Council?"

"I, honestly, don't see the point of shock in this. I mean, you're an wizard, you guys have a ministry but we can't have a council?"

"That's not the thing. Until I met you, I didn't really think genies existed. It's not just me, most people in the European wizarding community don't believe in the existence of genies. Because as per our sources, genies have not been spotted since the first century A.D."

"Typical wizard! You don't believe in what you don't see. There's more to magic than you know, Master. The wizarding community is one of the most ignorant communities I've come across. Did you know there are other wizarding communities, which specialize in only wand less magic because they feel that the wand restricts the flow of magic?"

I really never thought about this. Why wouldn't the communities think about contacting each other? There would be so much to learn.

"By the expression on your face, I'm guessing you didn't know that." I nodded. "So, getting back to my story, the Council contacted me. The heads of the Council are Zora and Amun. Zora was the first genie to be made. You see when Zora was made a genie, she could sense if someone else was made a genie. That's how she contacted Amun. They are free genies now. They put all the rules down on paper so when a new genie comes into existence, he/she don't have much problem into transition. The first three days of genie life is really hard. The whole 'containing-the-power-within ourselves' thing can be a bit too much for us. Also getting used to the small place, fighting claustrophobia takes time."

When she puts it like that, I don't think being a genie is all that easy. She continued speaking. "So, Zora and Amun really help us a lot. They are almost like the mama-papa of the genie community. They built Genieland. They took me to Genieland with them to understand everything. They keep all the genie information there. Since they are free genies, they don't have much work right now, so they are busy converting everybody's birthdays to the present day date system."

She was talking about all of this like these things were normal things to hear. This is all so unbelievable.

"But this is were the twist in my story comes." She said with a smirk. I was interested to know about this. "So after three days, Abu Fir opened my bottle. As much as I hated to call him master, I had to do it as my abilities forced me to do that. When, I said that I could fulfill three of your wishes, he was so sad, angry and disappointed. He wanted to make me his genie for the rest of his life. But to make that sort of a genie, a person needs a lot of power. He was not really strong enough to make me that sort of a genie." She laughed at her first master.

"He assumed that if he made me a genie he would be able to touch me, but what he didn't realize is that a genie is a pure being." I didn't understand what she meant. She started to explain after she saw the expression on my face. "Only a virgin can be turned into a genie. So they are pure, they can't be violated in anyway, at least physically."

"Why only virgins?" I didn't understand the logic behind this.

"Virgins are supposed to be pure and innocent. In a lot of forms of dark magic, to perform these kinds of rituals, you require a virgin's heart or a virgin's blood or a virgin's body, etc. Since virgins are untainted, dark magic flows easily in them and also they are able to contain it in them."

"Makes sense. I didn't realize you went through so many things. So what happened after you fulfilled Abu Fir's three wishes?"

"I never said I fulfilled his wishes. He tried to take advantage of me so my bottle's magic kicked in. I was sucked into my bottle and it disappeared to an unknown location, then the bottle was opened by a new master."

"Nice to know you have some way to save yourself from lecherous masters." We both laughed at that. "I still can't believe that someone turned into a genie only because you didn't want to marry him. That's brutal!"

She sighed. "What can I say! I was born in a time when hurting male ego was considered a punishable offense."

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**Please read and review! Thanks for reading!**

**Neepa :-)**


	7. Pari ponders

Chapter 7 : Pari ponders…

When I came out of the bottle and I saw him, my mouth fell open. I've never met anyone as handsome as him. I always had a thing for blonds. He was too blond for my liking but he still looked mesmerizing. I could not take my eyes off him. When he looked at me, I saw that he had grey eyes. Eyes that have the ability to pierce through people's souls. His eyes had me. I felt something, I've never felt before. My heart started beating so fast, I felt it would never slow down. But I had to compose my face and get on with my genie business. No matter what, I was feeling right now, I'm still a genie and I've some duties to attend to.

After the initial genie speech, I started telling him about the wishes he could not wish. He listened to me intently. He looked like he was concentrating not just on my words but also me. What shocked me the most was – he asked me my name! No grown-up masters have ever asked me my name. I jumped and shrieked. He took out his wand and cast a spell. That shocked me a little. He was a wizard. I have to be cautious with this one. In my experience, it's always the people with magical abilities that wish for the most horrifying things.

But he seemed different. His aura was not completely light. I could sense that he just needed a second chance. My first sign that he maybe good was when he asked me my name. He started asking personal questions. Then he did the oddest thing ever. He poked my cheek with his finger. The spot where he touched me, it was like my cells caught on fire. His touch was soft. I can't remember the last time a mortal touched me. What made me want to laugh was that he poked me to check if I was real.

My reaction to that was something, I never thought I would do in my existence. I kissed him. I…kissed…him. My first kiss! I read a lot of books in my life and I've always wanted to experience a kiss. I wanted to know what that felt like. What it felt like to have someone kiss you back. What it felt like to have someone wrap his arms around me. What would the lips against mine feel like?

The experience was more beautiful than it was in books. All my thoughts disappeared as soon as my lips touched his. The only thing that mattered was what we were doing. I could tell he was shocked at first but he responded to me. Then we deepened the kiss. I was elated. When he had his hands wrapped around me, I felt protected. Which is funny, because, I don't really need anyone to protect me. For a moment, I felt like I was home. I could do this forever.

Forever…he's mortal. There would be no forever. That made me sad. He ended the kiss gently. That's when I remembered that he is my master. I can't do things like this with mortals. Sure, there was no written rule prohibiting us from doing something like this. But I was still embarrassed by my actions. But I also felt good that I could to experience a kiss. How is it that I'm feeling both good and bad about this? Honestly, in the past if someone would have doubted me, I would have just flicked my fingers and make something appear. But here I was, throwing myself at my master. Damn it, Pari!

I felt a pinch in my heart when he asked me if I did that to my previous masters. When I told him it was my first kiss, he got nervous. That was funny because I should be the one who should be nervous. It was my first kiss after all! In spite of, my lack of experience and knowledge in this area, I felt I was good. He said I could call him by his name. If it weren't for the stupid rules, I probably would like to call him by his name. He has a very unusual name. Draco. It sounded so good. I particularly liked it when my lips would form an 'o' at the end of his name.

When I told him about the Genie law, he was shocked. Wizards have a government and we can't have rules. Thank God, for the rules. At least there are certain things that were out of our scope. Imagine if masters could make any sort of wishes. I don't even want to think about it.

We kept talking. He asked me why I was dressed like the way I was. He was confused because I was not dressed the way genies are dresses in the books. Honestly, why can't genies improve their ways of dressing? When I was summoned, I was at a party. It was my best friend, Tama Home's party. He is a Japanese genie. He was throwing a party because he became a free genie. Out of us 1,019 genies he is the 72nd genie to be free. I was a little jealous but also happy that he was free. So, I had to leave the party in a hurry. I know Tama Home would not have liked me leaving but I couldn't help it. It's not like I had a choice.

So, I changed into my genie uniform to show him. I hide them at the end of my closet. I don't like my genie uniform. It reminds me that I'm a genie. When I changed into my uniform, I swear, Master looking at me longingly. Like he wanted to kiss me again. I would have liked it if he would have kissed me. I mean, I did go through the trouble of wearing that. I would have accepted it as a reward. When he saw that I was not happy wearing those clothes, he told me I could change into anything I wished. I changed into my Spiderman t-shirt and shorts.

He asked me who Spiderman was! Can you believe that? After a few minutes, I realized that a lot of people from the wizarding world are not well educated about the non-magical folks. Then we talked about my history - my family, Abu Fir, how I became a genie, Genie Council and a brief about Zora and Amun. Soon after I told him my 'story' (just like he called it), Master began to feel sleepy. He asked me if I wanted him to transform the table in the room as a bed. I was touched by he offer. I told him not to worry about me. I had a bed in the bottle.

When I got on my bed, all I could think about was Master and I kissing. Boy, I don't think I will ever forget it. I thought about Tama Home. Tama Home is just 100 years older than I am. Since we belong to the same generation, we hit it off pretty well. He was the kind of friend that I didn't even know I needed. He's always there for me. When Zora and Amun get angry by my pranks I play on them, it's always Tama Home who saves me from their anger. Only free genies can get married. Zora and Amun got married just 500 years ago. We have a few more couples at Genieland but none of them are as cute as Zora and Amun. It took them a long time for them to realize that they had feelings for each other.

I have to tell Tama Home. I'm not sure if he will like it. We both have liked each other for a long time now. We decided to get married once both of us were free genies. I'm not sure if what Tama Home and I have is love. But we like each other more than we like the other genies. He has always made me feel good about myself. But is it love? Then Master comes along and he makes me feel things, I've never felt before. Obviously, what I feel for Master is not love. Is it lust?

Yes, it's lust. It can't mean anything else. I have to go and see Tama Home. I left the bottle and went to his apartment in Genieland.

"Hi. I missed you when you left." Tama Home smiled at me when I appeared.

I smiled back at him and hugged him tight. "New Master. You know how it is!" He has always been open about his feelings for me. He knew, I was not sure about my feelings for him. He never pushed me though. I'm the only genie who has had a lot of trouble accepting this fate. There was nothing in this world I wanted more than being mortal again.

"So, how's this new master?"

"He's good. He's a wizard. He didn't wish for anything as yet."

"Wizard?" He looked a little nervous. Like I said, no good experiences with magical folks.

"He seems different though." I said thoughtfully.

"Different?" He raised his eyebrows.

"He asked me my name. Can you believe that?"

He looked shocked. "Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking, Tama Home? Not just my name, he asked me about my history."

"Whoa! That's surprising behaviour for a wizard. You told him everything?" He asked a little doubtfully.

I nodded. "I don't know what it was about him. I just could not stop myself from telling him. He has the most beautiful grey eyes. It was like he could look into my soul."

He didn't look happy with what I said but he didn't say anything about it. "I thought, I was the only one who could look into your soul." He said in an attempt to pull my leg. I swatted him on his arm and stuck my tongue out at him.

"How was the party after I left anyways? I'm sorry that I could not come back soon enough. He asked me all those questions and I kept answering. After a very long time I was reminded of my family. He seemed genuinely interested in my flashback."

He looked suspicious. "Why do you think he was interested? The party was okay, like I said I missed you. Bernice kept flirting me with me, so some of my time was occupied."

"He told me that in the European Wizarding world, nobody believed that Genies existed. So, I guess, he was curious."

He laughed a little. "Seriously, wizards and witches need to come out of their bubble and explore the world."

"Tell me about it. Master asked me who Spiderman is!"

"I bet he doesn't know what a laptop is!" We laughed.

"I won't be surprised if he doesn't know. So, Bernice was flirting with you? Is she trying to steal my man?" There were times when I got jealous though my feelings for him were not the same. Maybe, I was afraid someone would steal my best friend away form me. That was something I would not allow.

We kept talking the rest of the night. I left as the sun began to rise. When I saw Master sleeping, I could not stop myself from looking at him. Every thought of Tama Home left me. Master, you are screwing with my head. And I hate you for it.

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**Neepa :-)**


	8. Free Genie

Chapter 8 : Free Genie

Did last night really happen? Was it a really elaborate dream? It was too real to be a dream. I still had to check to make sure it was not a dream. "Pari." I called out.

"Good morning, Master!" She had a real bright smile on her face. She was floating in the midair. She looked like she was lying down on a moving, invisible bed.

Being a wizard, I'm still finding this real bizarre. Maybe, it's because things like this don't really happen everyday. I looked at her wondering if my imagination could project such life like images.

"Master, I have a feeling that you're pretending that this is not real just so you could get me to kiss you again." She had a naughty smirk on her face and she was wriggling her eyebrows.

Boy, she really does know how to bruise the male ego. She is completely throwing me off my game. Normally it would be me talking like this. Girls would want me to speak like this to them. But this girl…no she's a genie…still she's someone from the opposite sex. I'm supposed to charm her not the other way around. But then I guess, when someone has live/existed, for almost 3000 years, it does make him or her bold.

"Master to planet earth! Master to planet earth!" Pari shouted. She was now on top of me. She is driving me crazy. If she gets anymore closer I will not be able to stop myself from kissing her. Every second that passed got me worried because she was coming closer to my face. When she was mere inches away from my face she spoke in a low voice that I was finding hard to resist. "Master, this is very much real. The faster you get used to this, the faster you'll make your wishes and the faster I'll be out of your life. And then you can go back to thinking genies don't exist."

I frowned at what she said. What if I wanted to keep her for a while or maybe more than a while? "Do you want me to make my wishes soon so you could go away soon?"

She thought about it for a while. I really wished I could hear her thoughts to know what she was thinking. "I don't know." This is my cue to take control. I flipped us around so now she was under me. She gave a small shriek. If a girl says she's doesn't know, she can switch any side. So, I might as well try.

But now that, I flipped her around, I didn't know if doing what I had in my mind would trigger her bottle's magic. If she disappeared now, I may never see her again. But then, she could use her magic and leave the bed. She is not doing that. Does she want me to kiss her as well? I looked at her eyes. Now that she was this close to me, I could see that she has dark brown eyes. Eyes, that contain a lot of knowledge and experience. I never wanted anybody more than this. There was a time when I wanted Granger but nothing comes close to the way I'm feeling now. Not that I'm ever going to admit it to Granger. This one is different. Merlin, I want to kiss her.

I lent in closer, she didn't move or show any signs of attempting to move. She looked at me like she was waiting. I touched the tip of my nose to hers. She gave a soft laugh. Our fingers entwined. I was almost touching her body with mine but I didn't put my weight on her. I kissed her on her cheeks. She kissed me back on my cheeks. As soon as she kissed me, she looked like she had not expected herself to do this. I brushed my lips against hers. I felt her shudder under my touch. She closed her eyes. I kissed her. This time it was even better than last night. The best part about the kiss was I knew that she wanted it too. I slowly went down to her neck and kissed her there. I kept trailing little kisses on her neck, jaw, earlobes and behind her ears. I found out that the base of her neck was her sensitive area. Whenever, I kissed her anywhere on the base of her neck she gave little moans. Her moans made me want to do more but I had and inkling that she would not like to go beyond kissing just as yet.

I looked at her and I could she her longing for more. She freed her hands from my grip and wrapped her hands around my neck and pulled me closer. We kissed even more passionately. Now that my hands free, they moved around and finally settled on her waist. She wrapped her legs around my waist pulling me closer. Merlin, I've never felt this alive. I have to keep her around. I don't want her to go. I wonder, will she stay if I don't make any wishes? Is there some sort of expiry period? The bigger question - will she stay if she got to know everything about me? Will she stay if she got to know the things I did during the war? Despite, all these thoughts filling my head, I could not break the kiss. I've never kissed anyone this way. No one has kissed me like this before.

I ended the kiss with a soft peck on her soft lips. We just looked at each other. It was a moment of peace. Of course, moments like these don't last forever.

"As much as I like to kiss you, Master, I really don't like morning breath." She was suppressing a smile on her face.

I was about to say something, when somebody opened my door. Blaise walked in with Daph and Pans. To say they were shocked would be an understatement. Pans looked hurt but she composed herself soon enough. Blaise and Daph were smirking.

"Didn't know you had company, Drake." Blaise said.

"When did you even get her here? First of all, who is she?" Daph asked while throwing looks of concern at Pans.

I looked at Pari. "Is it fine if I tell them?" I asked her. I was not sure if she was comfortable with people knowing about her.

She looked confused for a while. "Sure, Master."

"Master? Drake did you buy someone?" I knew Pans asked that in good humour but I was still miffed because she asked that. I looked at Pari and she clearly looked angry.

"Where did you get her from? I would like to get one myself." Knowing Blaise, I knew, he was actually joking.

"Hey, I'm not what you think I am." Pari said even before I could say something.

"Blaise, Daph, Pans, she's a genie." I said, desperately trying to save the situation. We got up from the bed finally.

"I didn't think, you wanted to tell them that, Master." Pari said.

"Very funny, Draco. If you really wanted to make an excuse, you should have said something better." Pans said.

"Drake, did you hit your head or something? Genies don't exist. You know better." Blaise said.

"Genie? Like a real genie?" Daph was surprisingly excited.

All of them said that the same time. So, it was difficult for me to understand what each one had said. Pari was smiling and nodding at Daph. The fact that they caught me on the bed with her was not really helping me. I knew from experience that Pans was always going to react like the jealous ex-girlfriend unless she finds someone. Or maybe even after that. I'm not sure.

"She is really a genie." I said a little more sternly.

Pari sighed and flicked her fingers and the colours of everybody's clothes changed. With another flick of the finger and the clothes were back to the original colour. "Now do you believe it?"

Pans, Daph and Blaise had their mouths opened in shocked. I'm sure if the Pans and Daph's mothers were here than they would have said that Pans and Daph at present looked very un-lady like.

"That's very simple magic, even we can do it. You must have used wandless magic." Pans really was making this situation hard.

"Pans trust me. Remember, yesterday, I went into that antique shop to buy something for my mom. I found her bottle there."

"Wait, you found me in an antique shop. Man, that bottle picks up the most odd places possible. But Antique shop makes me sound so old. Yuck."

Seriously, that's what she's worried about right now - that I found her bottle in an antique shop. Wait! Did she just say that the bottle picks up the oddest places?

"Did you just say the bottle picks up the place?" I asked, confused.

"Ya, once I fulfill the three wishes, I go back into the bottle and it transports me to a location of its choice. I can't control the bottle. I can control it only when I become a free genie."

"I'm confused. Could you explain properly? I don't understand what's going on." Pans was getting annoying by the minute. I wish, she would not say something at the wrong time.

"I'll explain in a while. I'll freshen up, come down for breakfast and tell you everything. For now, you guys leave my room and don't tell the others anything until I'm done explaining." I said that with an authoritative tone. A tone, which meant business. I had to know about this free genie thing. The others nodded and left the room. I shut the door as soon as they left.

Pari looked at me like I was crazy. "What was that all about, Master? And was it really necessary to tell them I'm a genie?"

"I had to. Honestly, I could not think of anything else to say. Also, I think if I had not told anyone about this, then I would have gone mad. If I would not have told anyone then I would have kept thinking this is not real."

She put her hands on her hips and looked a little angry. "We kissed last night and we kissed before your friends stopped by and yet you think it's unreal?" the expression on her face changed while she thought of something. "Was it so good that you think it's unreal?" She wriggled her eyebrows.

I think, I must have blushed because I could see a triumphant smile on her face. How do I salvage the situation? "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh please! It's written all over your face. I must be that good ah!" She had a bright smile on her face. She came closer to me. Without saying a word, she just hugged me. This is much easier than answering one of her questions.

Pulling back, I asked her, "Why didn't you tell me there was a way to free you?"

She looked at me like she was figuring out why I had asked her this. She was choosing her words carefully. "It never came up in our conversation, Master. You never asked me if there was a way to free me."

She is right here. I never asked her. In my defense, I, hardly, knew anything about genies. So, how would I know how to ask the right questions? "Right. So how do genies get freedom?"

She suppressed a smile. "Hmmm…it's something very complicated. So, let's not discuss it. I mean, it's not like you can do something about it."

"Tell me, I want to know." She refused again. This kept on going on for a while and finally, I got fed up. Since, she was already in my arms, I pulled her closer. I held her firmly. She could getaway only if she used her magic. That was highly unlikely, because I put every ounce of charm I had in me and looked deep into her eyes and kissed her passionately. She didn't try to getaway.

I pulled back halfway through the kiss though it was really difficult and asked her, "Are you willing to tell me now?"

She turned into vapour and moved to the other corner of the room. "That was a cruel way to get your way, Master."

I smirked, I know, I got through to her. I walked up to her slowly and hugged her gently. I was surprised she even let me get this close. "Please tell me. I want to know." I can't believe I used the word 'please'. I can't even remember the last time I used that word.

She sighed. "Fine. First way – if the current master passes away before he or she has made all of his or her wishes then the genie gets free. That's how my best friend, Tama Home got his freedom. The party I came back from, last night was his. In fact, all the genies that are free now is because of this." That is complicated. I don't think I want to die to set her free. Who's this Tama Home guy? That's a question for later.

"Second way – if the current master uses one of his or her wishes to set the genie free then obviously the genie gets free. These are the only ways that we know. We are not sure if there are spells that can be used to reverse this." She said that pointing towards herself.

"That doesn't sound so complicated."

She snorted. "Right. And who in their right mind, would use one of their wishes to wish that a genie should get his/her freedom rather than use a wish for their benefit?"

She did have a point. "I'm not sure." I want to set her free. But if I set her free will she stay? How am I to know that she will be here with me after I set her free? Will I ever be able to find her again?

"What happens after a genie is set free?" I was curious.

"I go back to Genieland and throw a party for my friends."

"You genies party a lot. But that is a short-term thing. I mean, in the long run what do you do? What happens to the bottle?"

"All the genies have houses or apartments in Genieland. If I get free, I will move to my apartment. The bottle will still be with me but it will be my choice if I was stay in it or even keep it with me. If at all, by chance, anyone was to find my bottle, I don't have to appear when he or she opens the bottle. Most free genies keep the bottles or lamps, etc, as a souvenir. Also, I will marry Tama Home, if I ever get free."

What did she just say?

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**Please read and review! Thank you for reading!**

**Neepa :-)**


	9. Interviewed by Master's friends

Chapter 9 : Interviewed by Master's friends

I had to drop the bomb about Tama Home. If I didn't tell Master about Tama Home, I will keep losing myself in his embrace. He already kissed me too many times today. Each time he kissed me I could feel my resolve slipping away. It's not fair to Master that I play him like this. But there is something about him that pulls me towards him. It's like we are magnets attracting each other. Every time, I move away from him or he moves away from me, I miss his touch. His touch brings this unknown tingling to me skin. That feels good. What frightens me the most is that in the books and romantic movies, all this indicates that you're in love!

Most of all, Tama Home doesn't deserve all this. He's been there for me all this time. All he asks in return is that I spend eternity with him. But I don't feel 'love' for him. When we hug each other, it feels normal. I feel like, I have a really amazing friend. Tama Home and I have not gone beyond hugging each other because I never really told him that I love him. I always assumed that I would fall in love with him eventually. Anyways, all these thoughts are not really useful now, are they? If I have to consider marriage, I will first have to get free. That's not happening anytime soon.

Although, I wonder, if Master would have set me free in case, I would not have told him about Tama Home. After I told Master about marrying Tama Home, he went to his bathroom to freshen up. I went to my bottle and freshened up as well. Today I chose to wear a plain black t-shirt, khaki coloured shorts and blue flip-flops. I decided to leave my hair open. I was deciding on which colour to put on my nails when Master called out my name. This time, his voice was stern, authoritative. This time, he called out my name like he was my master. I guess, I just blew any chances of getting free.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw him. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt and khaki shorts with black converse. He looked simply hot, his hair was still a little wet from the shower. But when I looked into his eyes, I could feel my heart break. He had the coldest look in his eyes. I didn't know what to say. Could I say anything to make it better? What if I said something and it only made it worse?

"Let's go and have breakfast. The others will be waiting." He spoke with no emotion at all. I just nodded. While we were going down the stairs, I could here murmurs from downstairs. I wondered how many people were present.

"He really didn't say anything? Who she is?" I heard a boy's voice.

"I just told you, he says she's a genie. Can you believe it? A genie?" A girl's voice said.

"What's wrong if she's a genie? Genies have been one of the oldest legends. If she's really a genie, then the legends will be true. That's so exciting!" Another girl's voice said.

By then, we reached the dining room. I saw four boys and four girls sitting at the table, immersed in their discussion. Master cleared his throat and said, "Good Morning, everyone." They either replied back or nodded in reply. But after that, all of their eyes were on me. They looked at me with interest. Clearly, the three people who had walked in on my and Master told the others everything. Classic mortal behaviour! You tell them not to tell anyone anything and they do just the opposite. "This is Pari. Pari these are my friends – Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass, Adrian Pucey, Tracey Davis, Millicent Bulstrode, Pansy Parkinson, Gregory Goyle and Theodore Nott." He spoke in a kind voice while pointing out each of his friends. They either nodded at me or said a polite 'good morning' in reply.

"Is it true? Are you really a Genie?" Daphne asked. I nodded.

"That is so cool." She said completely excited.

"You won't think it's cool when you've been a genie for so long." I tried to say it politely but it came out a little harsher than expected. Maybe it was because Master was acting so weirdly.

"How does it work? The whole genie thing?" I think, Theodore asked.

"Well, someone finds the bottle, I live in and opens it. I tell them that I can fulfill three of their wishes. I tell them the things they can't wish for. They make their wishes and then I disappear with my bottle to a location that the bottle chooses."

"When were you born exactly?" Blaise asked me.

"The Indus Valley Civilisation."

"Merlin, you look too young to have been born in that era."

"My body is frozen in its sixteen year old self but yes, I'm way older than I look." I said and winked my eye.

"Give us prove that you're actually a genie." Gregory asked.

"Honestly, I don't have to prove anything to you. But since, Master has been so nice to me, I'll make an exception this one time." I said this sarcastically while looking at Master.

"Oh, thank you for gracing us with this." Pansy said sarcastically. Lord, I was tempted to shut her mouth. She's annoying. I wonder, if she dated him. Ever since, she saw me in Master's bedroom, she's been throwing me nasty looks.

I floated from my chair and stayed midair for a while. Pansy took out her wand and used a spell on me. I think it was to make me fall or something. I just stayed where I was. I laughed a little. "You should know that genies are immortal and your magic will have no effect on me, whatsoever. My magic on the other hand, will affect you." I'm sure everybody saw through my threat.

I came down on and sat on my chair again. Master gave me the menu to order breakfast. I gave it back to him and shook my head. "I've got it covered."

"Are you on some sort of a special diet or something?" Master asked.

"Oh, you'll see, Master."

"So anyone who gets a hold of your bottle, they become your master?" Adrian asked.

"In a way, yes. There are different types of genies depending on the spell that was put on them when they were made a genie."

"So, if I was to take the bottle from Drake, I would become your master?" Millicent asked.

I smiled. "No. As per the spell that was put on me, a person can become my master only after the current master has made his three wishes."

"So, I will have to hold on to the bottle while Draco is making his last wish, so I can be your master after him." Blaise said while winking at me.

I laughed, "I don't think that's possible. See, as soon as I flick my fingers to make Master's last wish come through, the bottle will pull in and disappear off to a location of its choice."

"So, how did you become a genie?" Tracey asked me.

"I'm sorry. That's personal and I don't tell everybody that story."

"I bet if Drake makes you to tell us, you will tell us. Drake, tell her to tell us." Tracey said.

"Trace, she said, it's personal. We should respect her privacy. We all have things that we don't share with everyone." Master said with finality in his tone. I nodded at him with gratitude, but he just looked away.

By then the breakfast arrived. The others began eating. I flicked my fingers and in front of me appeared a bowl of fruit salad. I finished it quickly. I flicked my fingers again in place of the fruit salad was a plate filled with pancakes and syrup.

Pansy eyed me. "Are you really going to eat all of that?"

I looked at her incredulously. Did that girl really ask me that? "Well, yes!" After I finished my pancakes, I flicked my fingers for a huge bowl of oatmeal. By now everyone was looking at me curiously. I raised my eyebrows.

"You sure eat a lot. You're making our pal, Greg here look like he eats nothing at all." Adrian said that and everybody laughed. Gregory went red in embarrassment. Master looked pretty amused as well.

"We, genies, require a lot of energy do to the kind of magic that we do. So, we eat a lot. That's nothing new." I said that like it was a very normal thing to say.

"And that eating that much doesn't affect your…ummm…body shape in anyway?" Daphne asked me.

"No, my body will not age. Though, it functions like the any normal human being's body, I will not gain weight. The amount of magic that I have in myself requires that much energy. Food helps us make the magic sustainable."

"How long are you going to stay with us?" She asked. I wondered if she had an ulterior motive to asking me that.

"As long as it takes for Master to make his three wishes."

"I would really like it if you would come back to England with us. You will be the first genie in the presence of the Ministry of Magic and finally it will be proved that genies do exist." Daphne explained her intention.

"If, Master, as not made all of his wishes until you go back home, then I will be coming with you guys to England."

"That's nice. Drake, don't make any wishes until after we reach home. By the way, we are leaving for Cyprus tomorrow. It will be fun." Daph said good-naturedly. If I were not a genie, I would have definitely been friends with this girl.

"I'll think about it, Daph. But imagine, if we got stuck somewhere without our wands and the only way out was a genie, then what would you want me to do." Master teased his friend.

"Then I suppose, you can make the wish." She said and stuck her tongue out.

I flicked my fingers again and in front of me was a plate full of idlies with chutney and sambar. I put half the idlies in the bowl filled with sambar and the rest I began to eat with chutney.

"What's that? Why don't you just eat meat? I'm sure your stomach would be full if you had meat." Blaise asked.

"This is idli." I said pointing at the white round shaped things. "This is sambar." I pointed to the bowl of yellow liquid in front of me. "And this is Groundnut Chutney." I pointed to the grayish green semi-liquid, semi-solid thing. "It's famous Indian breakfast. It's very healthy because the idli is steamed. I don't eat meat for breakfast. I will be having it for lunch and dinner."

"What does Pari mean?" Millicent asked like she had been waiting to ask me this for a long time.

I smiled kindly at her. "Pari means fairy in Hindi." Master answered before I could. Everybody stared at Master. "What? She told me last night."

"It also means angel." I added with a smile on my face.

"Pari, you wait here. Don't move." Daphne said suddenly and ran out of the dining room.

"I'll be right here." I called out as she left. "Anybody know why she ran out?" I asked.

"No idea." Adrian said and the others shook their heads.

She ran back into the room, a little breathless. She had a camera in her hands. I looked at her doubtfully. The others just laughed at her.

"Why are you guys laughing?" Daphne asked doubtfully.

"You do realize you're a witch, Daph. You could have just summoned the camera." Master said with a smirk on his face.

"Right, the thought just popped into my head and I completely forgot that." She said it like she was dismissing any more discussion on this issue. She looked at me and asked, "May I?" she pointed the camera towards me. I nodded. I smiled a camera worthy smile, then stuck my tongue out and she clicked a picture of me. She waited for it to develop. She was anxious.

"You appeared in the picture!" Daphne said with excitement. She showed me the photo, I was moving. I was smiling and then I stuck my tongue out. I still didn't understand the point of her saying what she said.

"Daph, would you mind explaining why you ran to get our camera and then click Pari's photo?" Master asked.

"I wanted to see if she would appear in photos." Daphne said like it was an obvious thing.

I laughed. "I'm a genie not a ghost. Although, ghosts can also appear in photos, when they really wish to appear. But they appear sort of 'translucent-ish' or 'transparent-ish'."

"Right, now that, you've completed your madness, can we get ready to go and spend the day on the beach?" Blaise asked trying to settle the weirdness that was still present because of what Daphne had done. Everyone nodded and went to their rooms to change into their swimwear. I followed Master to his room.

"Are you not going to talk to me now, Master?" I asked.

"There's nothing to talk about." Master said a little too harshly.

I held his hand trying to stop him from walking away from me. He tried to free his hand but I held as hard as I could. "I know, you are angry, Master. You can't really ignore me, you know."

He cast a spell - "Muffliato" on the door and yelled. "Angry! You really think I'm angry. I'm not just angry. Why the hell did you kiss me and lead me on when you are already with someone else?"

"I'm not with him exactly. Tama Home is my best friend. We've been friends since I became a genie. He was always there. When someone is there all along, you tend to think, that's how it's meant to be. I kept thinking that I would fall in love with him eventually. He loves me and so, we thought that if we got free, then we would get married and spend our lives together." I said desperately trying to salvage the situation.

"Pari, please go and change into your swimwear, so we can catch up with the others. I don't want to keep my friends waiting." He said in a deadly calm voice. He picked up his change of clothes and went to the bathroom and shut the door.

Did I just make it worse?

* * *

**Please read and review! Thanks for reading!**

**Neepa :-)**


	10. The List

Chapter 10 : The List

Next morning, we got ready early. We cleared our bill. First, we apparated to the Wizton, Antalya. In Antalya, we got out portkey to Larnaka, Cyprus. The portkey was supposed to drop us at 'The Phoenix Shacks' on Dasaki Pylas Beach. It was a popular place in Cyprus. The first day, we went to Aglos Lazaros Church, Tuzla Mosque and Larnaka Fort.

Over the next few days we went to The Pierides – Marfin Laiki Bank Museum, Larnaka Town Museum. We went to the capital city, Nicosia, there we visited – Archbishop's Palace and some churches and mosques. We also visited the Pafos Gate and Pyli Ammochostou, which are two of the three Venetian fortifications in the city of Nicosia.

In Limassol, we visited – Amathous Archeological Site. This place has historical baths and the sanctuary of Aphrodite, Amathous Harbour. We also went to the Kourion Site. Here, we saw the famous Kourion Mosaics, Temple of Appllo Hylates, the theatre. We went to the Lemesos Medieval Castle.

In Pafos, we visited the Frankish Baths, Maa – Palaeokastro settlements, Petra tou Romiou (Rock of Aphrodite), the tombs of Kings which we were told was the a UNESCO world heritage list monument, we had no idea what that meant. Only Pari seemed to understand the implication of that. We also checked out the Pafos Medieval Fort and Saranta Kolones Castle. Both these places were beautiful.

Cyprus was just beautiful. The food was amazing. We decided to keep two days at the end aside, just so we could enjoy the beautiful beaches in the country. We had so much to do here. Everyday, we would go back to the hotel in the evening and just fall asleep because we would be so tired. We even partied one particular evening. The owners of the hotel that we were staying at were throwing some sort of a beach party and all the guests were invited. We decided to just make an appearance just so we are not thought to be rude.

But when we went to the party, we were blown away. We never really partied on a beach before. Though all of us were extremely tired, we stayed till the party ended. With everyday that was passing on the trip, I could feel myself healing. It was not just me, everybody was visibly more happy. Our biggest surprise came when Greg kissed Millie during the party when they were dancing. Even more surprising was Millie kissing him back.

After Cyprus, we left for Greece. I was really excited to go to Greece. Maybe, it's because of Greek Mythology. We went to Athens via portkey. In Athens, we were staying at 'The Wizton' again. Again, we took a villa overlooking the beach. The beach was so beautiful, the first we didn't do anything but just sit on the beach. We swam, we played games, we just lied on the beach, and we even had food on the beach! The first day was just about relaxing and taking in the scenic beauty in front of us.

The second day we just kept roaming around Athens. We, first, checked out the Acropolis Museum. We went to the Temple of Zeus, the ancient theatre of Dionysus where works of Sophocles, Euripides, Aeschylos and Aristophanes were performed. When we were standing at the ruins of Asklepieion, I started wondering how did muggles manage to build all of this without magic. In fact, I have been wondering that ever since we started our vacation in Turkey. But Athens was really enchanting. When we reached some sort of a promenade, Pari suggested that we rent cycles and ride them. We were confused, then she pointed at one of the passer-bys who was sitting on a small seat, which was attached to some metal rods and they were attached to two wheels with a lot of smaller metals things, which connected at the centre. People actually used that!

I thought riding this 'cycle' thing would be a piece of a cake. The people around seem to do it really easily. Even Pari was able to ride it without difficulty. I was beginning to wonder if there's anything that Pari can't do. Pari had become good friends with Daph. The others were also pretty welcoming of her, which is a lot for us to do. Slytherins are not very accepting of people. Pansy was the only one, who had some trouble trusting her. After falling a few times, we all seem to have gotten a hang of it. It was actually an enjoyable experience. If there's anything this trip is doing, then it's making me do things I've never done before.

Over the next few days, we traveled through Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion and Volos. We visited various monuments, beaches, caves, canyons and volcanoes. Again, we decided to visit the various beaches on the last two days of our stay. On the last day of our stay in Athens, Blaise pointed out something really sensible.

"If we keep traveling every country like this, we will never be able to reach France before our final year at Hogwarts begins in September." The girls had demanded that France be the last country we visit.

"Surprisingly, Blaise is right." I said. We never really planned out the trip, we just left and did whatever felt right.

"Hmm…how about we make a list of the places we want to go? That way we won't go to any place that's not on our list." Trace suggested.

"I think, that's a good idea, Trace." Adrian said. Adrian had developed a huge crush on Trace since the war ended. So, he normally agrees with whatever she suggests.

"Same here." Pans said and everyone agreed with what Trace suggested.

Millie waved her wand and a parchment and a self-ink quill appeared. "So where should be go next."

Theo waved his wand and map of Europe appeared. "I think it will be easier to decide if we had the map with us."

"Next we should go to Sofia, Bulgaria." Daph suggested. Neither of us had any viable reason to refuse so we put it on the list.

"Then Bucharest, Romania." Greg suggested. I was surprised he even made a suggestion. The discussion went on for a very long time. Everyone had different suggestions. Some didn't seem to be very interesting so we didn't add them on the list.

"When we go to Poland, I would really like to go to Auschwitz." Pari said cautiously.

"Why do you want to go to Auschwitz?" I asked curiously.

"Well, it was a Nazi camp during the World War II. Jews were held there and they were tortured under Hilter's command." Then she told us about World War II during which this guy Adolf Hitler captured Jews in these concentration camps in Auschwitz. He had them tortured and murdered ruthlessly. When she told us this, I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of similarity between the British Wizarding War and World War II. 'He' was like Hitler. 'He' went after muggle-borns and muggles like Hitler went after Jews.

"If it was a place were people were tortured and murdered, then why do you want to go there?" Pans asked. I could sense that everyone was a little uncomfortable after her story about World War II. That's when a thought hit me. The whole muggle world fought a war against each other, how come there was no mention of it any of our books. Was the wizarding world affected by this war in anyway?

"I've always wanted to go there. I tried to go there a couple of times but I sort of chickened out. That place has seen so much suffering that I get goosebumps just thinking about that place. One visit to that place can make any person in this world see that targeting a particular religion or community is not worth it. It's much better to find a way to co-exist then kill people over some different practices and thoughts. Trust me, you go there one time and you will completely forget about your pureblood and 'mudblood' discrimination." We cringed when she used that word.

"How do you know about that?" Millie asked

"Let's just say, I've a lot of free time and I may have done some detailed of research on Wizarding World since I started hanging out with you guys. It's good be informed."

"You sleep at nights, don't you?" Daph asked me.

"Of course, I do. What do you think I am?"

"A genie." Blaise said with an impassive face. Then everybody started chuckling.

"Very funny, Blaise."

So finally the list contained the following places –

Sofia, Bulgaria.

Bucharest, Romania.

Budapest, Hungary.

Auschwitz and Warsaw in Poland.

Prague, Czech Republic.

Vienna, Austria.

Rome, Milan, Florence, Pisa, Naples and Venice in Italy.

Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland.

Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt in Germany.

Copenhagen, Denmark.

Stockholm, Sweden.

Oslo, Norway.

Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Brussels, Belgium.

Madrid, Barcelona, Huelva, Malaga and Valencia in Spain.

Lisbon, Portugal.

Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Paris, Marseille, Nice, Cannes, Bordeaux, Dijon and Lyon in France.

After making the list we realized that we wanted to spend most of our time in Italy, Germany, Spain and France. Paris was supposed to be our last stop. Now that we had a list it was easy to plan our days accordingly. Originally, we decided to return home two weeks before school began. But seeing the number of places we wanted to visit, we were now going to go back home a week before school began. We wanted to go back with two weeks to spare because we wanted to get our books and supplies before it got too crowded on Diagon Alley. The last week before school re-opens is the most crowded week ever on Diagon Alley.

I had avoided talking to Pari as much as possible since we spoke in Istanbul. What she told me was so confusing. I'm pretty sure even she was confused about what she said. She tried talking to me but I would not say anything back. I could see that she was hurt. I just didn't know what to do or what to say. After a couple of days, I was not angry with her. I understood that, if someone were around for almost 3000 years, you would not want to be alone. Everybody needed company. I realized that during the war. It was the only time in my life I felt so alone. I had no one to talk to.

She did say she didn't love him. She felt she would fall for this other guy eventually. I still have my chances, don't I? Nobody seemed to notice the rift in between Pari and I except Blaise. He even asked me about it.

"So, what's going on in between you and Pari?" he asked pretty seriously.

"I don't know, what you're talking about."

"Drake, please. You think, I didn't notice? I've seen the way you look at her when she's not looking at you. You like her. I have a feeling it may even be love." It surprised me how much my best friend knew me. He even figured out when I sort of had a crush on Granger. It's a different thing that I never admitted it.

"Blaise, I've no idea what to do. I feel something towards her. It's really strong. When I have her in my arms, Merlin, it's like I never want to let her go. But she's a genie. She apparently promised some other genie bloke that she'd marry him in case they both would ever get free. That bloke recently got his freedom."

"Pari has a boyfriend?" He was shocked.

"No, he's not her boyfriend. As of now, it's a completely platonic friendship. He's her best friend."

"She only promised the guy, she'd marry him. You're talking like she already married the guy. If you really like her that much show her that you like her. If you keep your distance from her how will she ever know? Even you were supposed to marry Astoria, but after the war didn't you tell her that you didn't want to do it? Genie or not, girls need to be shown that they are loved." He told me this very seriously. He did have a point. She was not married. Heck, she was not even engaged.

"Since you're telling me all this, does it mean that you are finally going to make a move on Weaslette this year?" I wiggled my eyebrows.

"You know, Ginny is with Potter. Everybody except Potter could see she's in love with him even before they went out."

"Actually, from what I heard before we left, they sort of were not able to make it work. While we were restoring the castle, many of the times I saw, Potter trying to avoid Weaslette as much as possible. Weaslette seemed distressed, no doubt, but not as distressed as I would have expected her to be. I think, there maybe a chance for you."

"Are you sure?" I could see a hint of a spark in his eyes.

"Positive."

"Good. I guess, I'll have to find a way to grab her attention soon when we get back. We all know she doesn't like to stay single for a long time. But right now, you need to think about Pari. If you think, she's the girl for you then you should not let her go without even trying."

Blaise was right. I need to try at least.

* * *

**Yay! Chapter 10! I'm happy, I could write 10 chapters! Please read and review. Thanks for reading!**

**Neepa :-)**


	11. Random Stuff

Chapter 11 : Random Stuff

After Blaise told me that I should at least try, I really wanted to try. Problem was – I didn't know how to do that. Malfoys don't try to gain something, they always get what they want. And I'm a very pampered Malfoy. I have never had to make efforts to get something or someone except maybe for my grades. And Pari is completely different.

Even she was getting tired of trying so much. Once she even threatened me that she would change my mind with magic. That scared me for a while but then I realized that even if she were able to do such a thing she probably wouldn't do it to me. I knew, I could not avoid her forever. I think, I finally was able to talk to her again when we got to Auschwitz.

All of us were really nervous to enter the camp. We went in through the gates when I noticed that Pari was not with us. I looked back and I saw that she was still standing in front of the gate. I could see she was scared. I went back to her. She looked at me and said, "I don't think, I can go in. I'll stay here and wait for you guys to come back."

I held out my hand for her to take it, "Come on, let's go."

She looked at me with shock in her eyes and then they softened. She took my hand and whispered, "Thank You." I nodded and we went in.

The others were waiting for us. As much as I was wanted to concentrate on her hand in mine, I could not. The sites in front of me were painful. Whatever was done at this particular place, they did it even to little kids. The experience of being at that place was spine chilling. Muggles have a lot of brutal and painful ways to kill themselves. In the wizarding world, we just use the Killing Curse, as far as, I've been told, the person doesn't feel any pain. It was just heart wrenching to be there. I just could not stop myself from thinking why would someone want to torture others like this. I wondered, if any of the children watched their own parents being tortured.

I couldn't find that one word that would describe the feeling of being there. But Pari was right, you go there once and all the discrimination that was taught to you will leave you. The world is big enough for everyone to co-exist. Pari held on tight when we were inside. When we got outside, all of us were quiet. Each of us reflecting on the things we had just seen and about the war. At the end of the war, if any of us had even an ounce of pureblood supremacy left, I'm sure it would have gone now. The most surprising thing happened a little later.

Pans came and hugged Pari, "Thank you, for suggesting that we come here. Now, I understand what you meant. I don't think, I will be calling anybody 'Mudblood' anymore." Pari was shocked that Pans hugged but she hugged her back.

"I'm just glad that Voldy didn't make camps like this." Theo shivered as he said this.

"I've a feeling that if he had won the war, he may have done something like that." Greg said. It still never fails to surprise me when Greg says something like this. I still have a hard time knowing that Greg has the ability to think. No offense to him, I guess, it's because I never really had a conversation with him before this trip. It was always me telling Greg and Vin (Vincent Crabbe) to do something and they would just grunt in affirmation. I never let them talk. It was my fault that even after years of knowing Greg, I never really got to know him. But this trip is making me see new things in him, it's not just him, even the others. And now, that he and Millie were dating, he was more relaxed and more comfortable with expressing his views.

"I think, I would have rather died than see anyone get tortured in a place like this." Blaise said. Blaise's family was one of those few pureblood families, which did not side with 'Him'. Even the Bulstrode, Davis and Pucey families didn't side with 'Him'. These families went into hiding at the end of sixth year. They knew that with Dumbledore dead, the war would start anytime. Zabini family didn't only go into hiding during war but also helped out a couple of muggle-borns by taking them in. Blaise's parents are, what the purebloods call, 'very liberal in their views'. They never had the blood supremacy prejudice. That was one of the reasons why my father didn't let me spend a lot of time with Blaise and his family. He was afraid the Zabinis would corrupt me. Some of the families even look down upon them for their choices, irrespective of their wealth. After the war, Louis and Maria Zabini were given positions in the Ministry in the Muggle Relations Department.

"I would not want anything like that to happen ever again." I said thoughtfully. The others nodded. They understood that neither of us had the energy to go through that kind of an experience again. "If another Dark Lord were to appear, I think, I will 'avada' myself."

"I agree with you. I've had enough of war to last me a lifetime." Daph said.

Pari looked at me and said, "Thank you for being there with me."

So from there, Pari and I started talking again. It was not like we started having big conversations, right away. We kept it small at first. But we didn't go back to talking about us. We steered clear of flirting in any form. There were times when I wanted to hold her hand and pull her close to me and kiss her. Desire was so intense that I had to take cold showers to control myself.

* * *

While we were in Venice, another good thing happened. In fact, most of us felt that it was about time for this to happen. Once, we reached Venice, Ad knew he had to ask Trace out for a date. He had no idea how to do it.

"I think, you should take her on one of those gondola rides and ask her to be your girlfriend." Blaise said.

"No, I think you should take her to the roof of the hotel and ask her while you have a wonderful view of Venice." Theo said.

"Take her out for a wonderful dinner overlooking the canals and ask her." Greg said. Trust Greg to give a suggestion, which included food.

"You guys are confusing me." Ad looked confused.

The next few minutes, we gave a few other ideas. But he just kept getting confused. I wondered if we gave him so many ideas only to confuse him. Finally, he got so vexed up that he left the room and went to the room were the girls were talking. We followed him. He stood in front of Trace.

Trace looked at him and said, "Is something going on?"

Ad looked like he regretted standing in front of her without a plan. "Umm…nothing." He turned to move away from her. He stopped in between and turned back to look at her, "Actually, I have something to say to you."

"O…kay, go on." Trace looked impassive.

He knelt down in front of her. I was shocked when I saw him do that. She's not even his girlfriend and he's going to propose to her. Everybody looked shocked. Trace looked curious. "I'm not proposing to you." He cleared the air before saying anything else. Trace nodded. "I just needed to be on the same eye level as you." He smiled at her. And the smile was relaxed. He didn't look stressed anymore.

"Ad, seriously, just go on and tell me whatever it is."

"Trace, I like you. I've had a huge crush on you since the war ended. I want to be with you. Will you go out on a date with me? I think, Venice is the most appropriate city for our first date. It's perfect. I mean, if you want our first date to be in some other city, I'm…"

Trace put her hand on his mouth to stop him from talking. "You really should know when to stop taking, you know!" She smiled and moved her hand to cup his cheek and said, "It's about time you asked me out on a date. I've been waiting for a long time now."

Ad looked pleased with himself, he went closer to her, "Really?" He still asked with a hint of doubt in his voice.

"Yes, Ad. Now shut up and kiss me already." And Ad didn't need to be told twice. He kissed her. The rest of us cheered when they kissed. They broke the kiss and smiled at us. Then they left the room to get some privacy.

The entire time that Ad was telling Trace about how he felt for her - I was looking at Pari. She looked so ecstatic. It was the kind of look that all girls have when one of their friends is being told that she is liked/loved by a guy. The look that tells she's happy for her friend and she hopes that something like that happens to her someday as well. I want to tell her that I like her. I don't know what came over. I walked over to her.

She looked at me apprehensively, "I need to talk to you." She nodded at me and got up from the couch that she was sitting on. I led her out of the room. I looked back to see if anyone was watching us. Everyone was chatting happily, only Blaise noticed and he winked at me when I saw him, then he went back to talking to the others.

She followed me in silence to my room. I stood in front of the window that overlooked the canal, the sun had just set and there was an interesting spread of colours across the sky. She stood next to me and took in the view. Without a word, I held her hand but she didn't pull back. She smiled at me. I just hugged her. I knew it was the right thing to do. I had no words to say to her, that's why I hugged her. We stayed like that for sometime.

I pulled back, "I know, I shouldn't have reacted that way. I was shocked."

"I understand. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you so much and neither should I have thrown myself at you." She blushed with embarrassment.

"No, I'm sorry, I should have understood that you've been here a long time and it was obvious that you would have gotten lonely. I had no right to get angry with anything pertaining to your personal life."

And that's how we sort of renewed our friendship. We started talking. The rest of the trip was just blissful. Things would happen automatically in between us. We would hands like it was a very habitual thing for us to do. I liked to keep her near me. I would ask her a lot of questions about her life. She obliged. She never asked me to make my wishes, I guess, she wanted to stay as long as it was possible. That was totally fine by me.

* * *

**I know the story is slow paced as of now but bear with me! Please read and review! Thanks for reading!**

**Neepa :-)**


	12. Paris

Chapter 12 : Paris

The rest of the trip was really great. Pari made us go to some football matches when we were in Spain. In fact, she was begging us to go to a match since we got to Germany. But we just dismissed her. But in Spain, we decided to give it a try. So, somehow, we managed to get the tickets to a match. I was told that getting tickets could be a difficult task. When we watched the match I was pleasantly surprised.

Football was something like Quidditch. Only people were not flying around on broom. There was only one ball, almost the size of a quaffle. Okay, there were many differences in between the games. But the energy in the stadium reminded me of the energy that was there in school before and during the game. So, this game had 11 players on each side. There's one goalkeeper who's like a keeper in Quidditch. There are three defenders - they are like the beaters. There are four players on the forward and three players are called midfielders – they are like the chasers. I was told that the player positions change as per the game strategy except, of course, the goalkeeper. The game was good. Blaise and Theo fell in love with. The girls enjoyed watching the players running around in shorts.

And now, here we are, in Paris. The last stop! We just reached Paris. We decided to come to Paris tonight so tomorrow, we wake up fresh and start enjoying Paris. In Paris, we were staying at the Malfoy Villa. The villa overlooked the Seine. You could see the Eiffel tower as well. It was a spectacular view. Like the girls mentioned, there's just something about Paris. I knew, this is it! If I had to make a move on Pari, I had to make it now. Because once school starts, I don't think, I'll be able to give her much time. This is our N.E.W.T year. I'm hoping that I beat Granger at least this time. Even if, I don't manage to score better than her, I want to work hard and get straight Os. I want to get into 'Healer's Academy' and that is possible only if I manage to get good scores.

Next morning. We visited the Louvre. The museum took up so much of our time and yet we were not able to see the entire museum. We had to take breaks in between to eat and then we would go back again. We did that until closing time. Then we went to one of the bistros and had some sandwiches and coffee.

"Let's go and check out the Eiffel Tower. I've been there so many times but I still love going there." Trace suggested.

"Anything you want, love." Ad agreed and made Trace blush.

Everybody wanted to go there. We decided to apparate to the nearest apparition point and then walk to our destination. Every place, I looked there was at least one couple walking around holdings like nothing else mattered. There were people kissing each other. Millie and Greg and Ad and Trace walked hand in hand. The rest of us were talking and walking ahead of the 'couples' to give them their 'Paris time'. All of a sudden Blaise and Theo offered their hands to Daph and Pans respectively, Daph and Pans eyes them suspiciously.

"We are in Paris, we might as well have some fun, though we are not dating." Blaise smirked as he said that. Daph smiled and gave him his hand.

"What's your reason, Theo?" Pans said.

He looked a little scared when Pans asked him that, "Ummm…the same reason…"

"Not good enough for me." Pans said flatly.

"We're going to the Eiffel Tower, don't you want to be with somebody there? Do you want to go there alone?" Theo teased her.

She looked at me from the corner of her eyes and said, "Somebody, yes! But not with you, Theo. So, bugger off!"

"Uhh…feeling a little lonely in the city of love, are we?" He continued teasing her. She glared at him. "Okay, fine. I'm sorry. You don't have to get angry. Come on, I'm just trying to have a little fun. Neither of have anyone else but each other. Pans, be kind enough and allow me the pleasure your company and escort you to the Eiffel Tower." He said dramatically.

She laughed, "We, Slytherins can't do anything without the dramatics, can we?"

"Wouldn't be Slytherins, if dramatics weren't involved." Theo winked at her.

She gave him her hand like she was doing him a great favour. "You better make this worthwhile or else you'll pay later." She threatened him.

Now that she was leading her, he didn't look scared, "Don't worry, I don't intend for it to be worthwhile." He smirked at her.

This exchange left me confused. I didn't know if I was supposed to hold her hand as well. Damn Blaise and Theo and their dramatics! I looked at Pari from the corner of my eyes and saw that even she was thinking along the same lines. I mean, holding hands subconsciously was completely different from doing it consciously. I took a breath and said, "Shall we?" I offered my hand.

"We shall." She smiled and put her hand in my hand. We walked in silence. Though, we were holding hands the moment of awkwardness was still around. We reached the tower. We stood there for a while just to admire the tower. We went up the tower. The real couples and the fake couples were standing in separate points and admiring the view in front of them. We chose out spot and stood there, taking in everything. We put our hands on railings and stood there. This silence was comfortable. Slowly, we got closer to each other. It was like the city itself was conspiring to bring Pari and I together. I, casually, put my hand around her shoulder. She didn't show any signs of discomfort. I could feel that spark ignite again.

"So, how are you liking Paris?" I enquired.

"I've been here before, you know. I love this city. One of my favourite cities in the world."

She was looking into my eyes and I forgot what I was going ask her. The hand that was on her shoulder, I brought it down to her waist slowly. I could tell she didn't want to stop me. As soon as, my hand went down to her waist, we faced each other. Looking at her, I knew, words need not be spoken. I pulled her closer, if that was even possible. She put her hands on my chest but she didn't push me away. I cupped her cheek with my free hand. I lent down to close the distance in between our faces.

I was moving slowly because I wanted her to have the chance to stop me, if she didn't want what I wanted. Our noses were touching. I ran my nose up and down her nose slowly. It made her smile. I smiled at the sight of her smile. I place a small chaste kiss on her lips. At first, her eyes conveyed shock, slowly, they softened down and finally she closed her eyes, waiting. I kissed her with all the passion I could muster. She wrapped her arms around my neck. I didn't have to ask for any sort of permission to deepen the kiss, she let me enter her mouth and deepen the kiss. That's when I realized that this was a trick to dominate me during the kiss. We both continued fighting for dominance.

After a few minutes, we stopped since we heard giggles around us. We saw that the others were watching us. Pari got embarrassed and she buried her head in my chest. Pans was really trying her best to be fine with this. I grinned goofily at my childhood friends. I wrapped my hands around her protectively. "Okay, show's over. Go on now!" I said.

"We thought, we'd come and call you so we can go to some nice restaurant get some dinner. But looks like you have other plans." Blaised smirked 'a Slytherin worthy smirk' at me.

"No…nothing like that." Pari said in a high pitch. She sounded embarrassed.

"Let's go and get some dinner." I announced to save her from any more chagrin.

The other nodded and turned to walk towards the lifts. Pari was just about to move when I stopped her and kissed her again, this time softly. She moaned while I was kissing and that sound traveled through my body. I was turned on. I was tempted to apparate her to my bedroom and do things that would make her moan even more.

Despite, being turned on, I ended the kiss with a soft peck on her lips and her forehead. I only ended it because the others were waiting. I didn't want to make a spectacle of us twice in one day. I held her hand and we walked quickly to catch up with the others.

"We were going to leave the both of you here so you could enjoy the atmosphere here." Theo teased.

"Enough!" Though my tone was hard, there was mirth in my eyes.

We went to have dinner at a restaurant. We had already informed the elves at the villa that we would be eating out. In turn, the elves made us promise that we would eat at the villa at least once before we left. I, honestly, had no clue where we were going or where we were eating. Heck, I didn't even know what I ate for dinner. Wherever we went, I made sure I was holding her hand. I left her hand only when I was eating my food. Even when I was eating, I kept throwing looks at her. She would do the same. At times, she would give me shy smiles and blush.

Somehow, I felt the time was not moving at all. I wanted to grab her and kiss her senseless. Merlin, time, and my friends were all testing my patience. Why can't we eat dinner quickly and go back to the villa. I had a calm expression on my face but inside I was impatient. My impatience had reached limits when my 'so called' friends decided they wanted to chat for a while before we went to bed. I sat for a while, quietly. When I couldn't take it anymore, I got up and told them I was sleepy and I was to going to bed. I left the room and went to my bedroom.

Apparently, Pari didn't get the message since she didn't follow me to my bedroom. I kept waiting, tempted to go and call her. After waiting for thirty minutes, I growled out her name, not sure if she could hear me, though.

"You called me, Master." Pari spoke from right behind me. For a moment, I got scared and jumped.

She was suppressing a smile, "Don't ever do that." I wrapped my arms around her. I started placing little kisses on her face.

She laughed. "Someone's impatient tonight."

"I've been waiting to do this all evening." I said in between kisses. By now, she started placing kisses on my face too. "Enough talk for now." She chuckled. Her eyes had a spark in them. Could I really make someone this happy? I started kissing her. At first, the kisses were slow and soft. Every second, the passion and the need for each other was increasing. She took off my t-shirt. My hands were on her arse. I picked her up and started walking towards the bed.

We fell on the bed. But we didn't break our kiss. I trailed kissed on her neck, jaw and the back of her ear. She moaned and I really could not control myself any longer. One of my hands went under her t-shirt. I felt the soft skin on her abdomen and it moved upwards. I was just a rib away from touching her breast when she stiffen and broke the kiss. She looked a little startled.

"Master, no. I can't do that. I'm sorry, I'm not comfortable with going any further." She said nervously. She wasn't looking at me.

I took a couple of deep breaths to calm myself, "It's okay. You don't have to be sorry. We will not do anything you don't want to. I'm sorry if I startled you." I said sincerely.

She looked at me curiously, "You're not angry, then?"

I looked into her eyes. "Pari, why would I be angry? You don't want to do something, it's totally fine by me. We don't have to rush into this. We have all the time in the world." I paused for a few seconds and continued. "Of course, that last sentence has a completely different meaning to you."

She giggled, "Yes, it does." I kissed her gently. She responded hesitantly at first. "I guess, I should go to bed."

She started to move from the bed and go to her bottle but I held her in my hands and shook my head. "Stay here. Sleep with me?" I requested.

She looked at me for a long time, "Do you have any ulterior motives?"

"I'm not going to lie, Angel. I have many ulterior motives but I assure you, I'm not going to act on them unless you let me."

She beamed at me. "You called me Angel."

"Yes, I did. That is the meaning of your name. Stating the obvious now, are we?" I smirked and she swatted my hand playfully. I pulled on a puppy dog face and said, "So, now that you have physically abused me, will you sleep with me now?"

She tapped her index finger on her chin, pretending to think, "Yes." She smiled at me.

"Thank you." I kissed her. Then I pulled her into my arms and after finding a comfortable position that suited us, we fell asleep.

After a long time, I slept so peacefully.

* * *

**Please read and review. Thanks for reading!**

**Neepa :-)**


	13. Teenage Dream

Chapter 13 : Teenage Dream

In Paris, I felt like all of my dreams were coming true. Ever since, the night that Master and I slept together, we did it every night. During the day, we would roam the streets of Paris with Master's friends. They, normally, never say anything about Master and I but occasionally they would tease us, when they catch us kissing or just staring into each other's eyes. I would feel embarrassed. In a way, I found the 'whole embarrassment thing' ridiculous. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm just getting my long overdue share of warm fuzziness. I liked being here with him. How I wish I could say his name out loud!

This whole trip with him and his friends was really amazing. Daphne and I were really close to becoming good friends. She was very curious about me. She told me a lot about her world. It was not just her, but I could have a really intelligent conversation with almost everyone. At first, I thought Gregory was a little slow but if people gave him time, he would catch up. I never thought Pansy would warm up to me. After Auschwitz, we started talking. She told me about Master and her relationship. She also pointed it out to me that the way Master looks at me, he has never looked at her in that way. She told me that she is happy for Master, because after the war he was really very damaged and lost. To me, it almost sounded like she was giving Master and I her blessing. That was scary.

I found Master checking me out, when I woke up one morning. It was our last day in Paris. Tomorrow, we were going to London. I was excited to go to London. I want to see the place where master grew up in. I also want to see this school they talk about so much. They called it Hogwarts. Everything they told me about Hogwarts was so exciting. I've never been to a wizardry and witchcraft school before. I never got the chance to. Maybe, this is my chance. Master was watching me intently. I looked back at him. "Good Morning."

"Good Morning, Pari." He said in a sing-song voice. He kissed me chastely.

"So, since it's the last day of your 'Euro trip' what do you want to do, Master?"

"I sort of already spoke to the guys and told them that we will be spending time by ourselves today."

"Sounds interesting! What do you have on your mind?" I was excited by the prospect of being with him alone.

"Before anything, I want you to know that we'll be having dinner here tonight with the others. Remember, we promised Sonny and Puff (the house elves) that we will eat at home at least once before we leave. So, they are preparing an exquisite dinner for us."

"How do you know that dinner is going to be exquisite?"

"Because dinners are always exquisite in the Malfoy household." He stated it like it was an obvious thing.

"Whatever, you say, Master. You think, we should go and help them?"

"They don't need our help."

"They have to make dinner for 10 people and there's also the added pressure that it has to be exquisite." I said. I felt really bad for those poor creatures. I mean they work so much. They do all the household work. The first day, when we had breakfast at the Malfoy Villa, as usual, I refused to have the breakfast that was served since I could just make anything I wanted out of thin air. The house elves took offence. Sonny and Puff started crying saying that it was because I didn't like them. The other house elves (I didn't interact much with the other house elves) started asking me if there was something else I wanted to eat. They didn't stop crying or fretting over me until I ate something from the served breakfast.

He chuckled, thinking about the same thing I was, "Trust me, they would be more offended if you offered help."

I was shocked. "Honestly?"

"Yup. If you went and tried to help them, they would start thinking that they are doing something wrong and they'll punish themselves later on. It's really painfully hard to stop them from doing that. The best thing to do is speak kindly with them and appreciate their efforts."

"What creature would like to live that? In captivity?! I also sensed that they more powerful than any of you guys. Despite knowing that they can do so much! That to without a wand! The magical protection around this place does not effect them in anyway, am I right?"

"Yes, they can move through the wards. The wards do not stop them. I have no idea why they love living in captivity." He was quiet for a few seconds and then said, "You remind me of someone."

"Who?"

"Hermione Granger." He stated.

"The name's familiar. Wait a moment!" He didn't say anything. I was trying to recognize the name. "Oh! I remember. She's the girl who fought the war along with Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley."

"The same one."

"And please tell me, why am I reminding you of her?" I realized, I didn't like him thinking about someone else.

"I heard from a lot of sources that she is very… passionate about Elfish Welfare and Rights. She, apparently, even formed a group of sorts to free elves in Hogwarts. She was the only member. Little did she know that the elves in Hogwarts are probably the happiest elves in the world."

"Well, at least someone tried to stand up for them." I defended her though I don't know her.

"Ya, I know. Do you want to spend the entire day like this, on bed? On second thoughts, I think that would be better than doing anything else." He smirked naughtily at me.

"Very funny, Master. Let's get ready and have some breakfast and then we can decide what we want to do the entire day."

"As you wish, mademoiselle."

We got up from the bed, he went to the bathroom and I went to my bottle to use my bathroom in the bottle. I quickly did all the things I had to do and then stood in front of my closet to decide what to wear. I was standing with my towel wrapped around my body. I decided to wear a white strappy sundress with cream coloured sandals. I wanted today to be really good. Because it would be the first time, Master and I would spend the entire day by ourselves.

I was looking at the mirror, putting liner on my eyes when I saw vapour form into someone behind me. It was Tama Home. I felt happy and sad to see him. I was happy because I was looking at my best friend after so long. I hadn't visited him since the day I met Master. I was sad because suddenly everything that happened or was happening in between Master and I started to feel wrong. I was feeling guilty now. I actually forgot about Tama Home. I was so into my happy world that I forgot that when all this was over, he'd be the one waiting for me to come back.

"Surprise!" he shouted. He came towards me and wrapped me in a huge hug. "You don't look surprised!"

"I am. I just need to wrap my head around the fact that you're here. I didn't see you for so long. I…missed you." I rambled.

"Liar." Does he know? But I didn't tell him anything yet. "You didn't miss me." A sigh of relief left me. "If you would have missed me, you would have come home and visited me."

I looked up at him and said, "Just 'cause I didn't visit you, it doesn't mean that I didn't miss you." This bit was true. I did miss him even if it was just a little.

He smiled his most angelic smile at me and kissed me on my forehead. "So, what's kept you so busy that you couldn't come and to see me, ah?"

I bit my lip. I was getting nervous. "Master and his friends were traveling all around Europe. It was a nice opportunity to hang out with mortals. These few weeks, I felt like I was a mortal. I felt normal for a while."

He looked at me sympathetically. "Pari, you know this will end, right?"

"I know, it's just…just…my chance to feel like a teenager for a while. After this, God knows, who will open my bottle. But I want to enjoy what I have, while I have it. You know, how much I wish, I can be mortal again."

"I know, Pari. But you need to acknowledge that, a mortal life is not possible for us. Now that, you've lived your fantasy, you need to come back to reality."

I had tears in my life when he said that. "You're right. It's just that it feels so real not like a fantasy." By now, we had moved to the couch. He held me in a tight hug while I sobbed into his chest. As he kept trying to calm me down, the guilt set in even more. He was rubbing soothing circles on my back to stop me from crying. I know, we are technically not dating yet. We were just waiting for me to get my freedom. I still felt like I'm cheating on him. It's not fair, is it? Tama Home has been there for me all the time and this is how I pay him back? I think, I should tell him. I don't want to lie to him. He's the closest person I've to family.

"I came here to surprise you, but I made you cry." He said after a while.

"I'm sorry, that I made your surprise become a crying fest." In reality, I was apologizing for so many things, he didn't know yet.

"I'm the one who should be sorry. I made you cry." He kissed me on my forehead. Lord, why are both the men in my life so chivalrous? Chivalry makes it even more difficult to lie to them. They say sorry and I feel even guiltier. I feel so worthless. I don't deserve either of them. But my loyalty lies towards Tama Home. I would follow him to hell, if I had to because that's how much he means to him.

Would I really choose Master over Tama Home?

"Well, you did make me cry? Did you spoil my make up as well?" I asked him haughtily.

"I can fix it." He said with a smiled and flicked his index finger and his thumb. "By the way, why are you dressed so beautifully?"

"You think I look beautiful?" I was surprised.

"Yes, of course. Now answer my question."

"Well, I am in Paris. It's our last day here so I thought I might as well get dressed. It's a beautiful day outside."

"Yes, it is." His voice was a little husky. "I missed you, Pari."

"Of course, you would." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"You have no idea how boring it is without you. Now that I'm free, you know what Zora and Amun want me to do?"

I shook my head. "No idea."

"They want to me to help them convert everybody's birthdays to the present date system. I have no clue what's the point in doing that anyways. It's not like we enjoy getting any older." I laughed. "Oh, don't laugh at me! You know, till now they managed to convert only 123 birthdays to the present date system. I so badly wanted to go with the other team."

"What is the other team doing?" I was curious.

"You would now if you had visited these past few weeks." He poked my rib playfully. "They going around the world to round up all books, content, whatever has any information about how to make someone a genie."

"The Gods allowed it? What are Zora and Amun planning to do with the information?"

"Zora and Amun plan on destroying them. So, no one else has to face this. Zora is working on the Gods. She trying to convince them but the Gods say that if someone has to become a genie then he/she will become a genie and we can't stop people's fates."

"That's what they always say. But why did they send out a team anyway?"

"I don't know, she feels she maybe able to convince the Gods finally."

"But why is she pushing it now? I mean, we've been arguing with the Gods since I can remember being a genie. And the last genie was made some 500-600 years ago. Does she think someone else is going to be made into a genie?"

"Oh Pari! You always think too much. It could mean, that Zora is finally bored of all the arguing and she wants all the data and set it in front of the Gods. Then maybe she'll destroy them in front of the Gods."

I laughed at his ridiculous story. "Right, we are talking about Zora here. She would never go against the Gods."

"Pari, we'll find out when we have to. So, don't over think it now."

"You're right. I agree." I heard master called out my name. "I've to go, Tama Home. My master's calling."

"Why don't I come and meet your new master?"

I was startled. "Why do you want to meet Master?"

"Well, you said he's different. You sort of increased my curiosity. And clearly, you've made him a friend. So, I'm assuming he won't have a problem meeting your best friend."

My heart began pounding. I have no clue how Master will react to seeing Tama Home. When I mentioned him, he started avoiding me for a few weeks. I wonder what he would do now. I kept my voice calm though I was feeling the complete opposite. "Hmmm…sounds fair enough."

He took my hand and we went out of the bottle.

* * *

**Trying to bring in some drama into the story! Hope you like it! Please read and review! Thanks for reading!**

**Neepa :-)**


	14. Tama Home

Chapter 14 : Tama Home

I noticed two distinct vapours coming out of Pari's bottle/home. When they materialised in front of me, I was not sure how to react. Standing in front of me was Pari and an Asian guy. I assumed he was Tama Home. I remember, Pari telling me that Tama Home was Asian. I took a brief look at Pari. She looked beautiful in her white dress. Although, I wanted to keeping looking at her, my eyes kept going to their interlinked hands. I just could not take my eyes off their hands. It was like a punch to the stomach. Just I while ago, I was in bed with this girl, now, she shows up with another guy. How am I supposed to react? Am I supposed to say something? Or wait for her to say something?

She looked nervous. He, on the other hand, looked happy. He had dark eyes and hair. He was neither fair nor dark, right in between fair and dark. What surprised me the most was his height. He was tall. I was told sometime back that most Asian guys are short. In fact, he was a good two-three inches taller than I am. He smiled at me, waiting for Pari to introduce us. The silence in the room had increased ten fold with every second that passed by.

Her voice was very cautious when she spoke. I'm sure even Tama Home noticed. "Good Morning, Master."

"Good Morning, Pari."

"Master, this is Tama Home, my best friend" She looked at him and said. "Tama Home, this is my master." Just master? Is she supposed to add the guy she's been kissing the past few days? I wanted to blurt that out.

He held his hand out to me so we could shake hands. What if I don't want to shake hands with him? "Hello, I'm Tama Home."

I shook his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Draco Malfoy. So, what brings you here?" I tried to say it as politely as possible but it came out sharp.

Pari noticed my tone. His eyes hardened for a millisecond but he laughed before he answered me. "This one, right here." He pointed towards her. "Well, you see, since you became this female's master, she has not visited home. I was missing her like crazy. You've kept her pretty busy." He wrapped his hand around her waist. I wanted to hex him into oblivion just for putting his hand on her.

He has no idea how busy we've been. I wish, I could tell him. "I had no clue, she wasn't visiting home, if I had known, I would have told her to go." Sarcasm heavy in my voice. "We've been visiting a lot of places, so we got tired every night when we got back to our rooms."

"Oh, I totally understand. She's having fun. That's all matters to me." He kissed her on her temple. She looked at him so kindly. That exchange made me a little nervous. For a moment, I knew, if I freed her, she would not come with me. Somehow those words meant more to them than I could understand. I wanted to be the one to be next to Pari not him. Secret exchanges are supposed to pass between Pari and I, not Pari and him.

"She's having a lot of fun, that's for sure." She looked at me completely horrified. She knew what I meant. The look on her face made it evident that she was not willing for Tama Home to find out. Tama Home? Now that I think about it, what sort of a name is Tama Home? "Pari, didn't you tell him all the places you went to with us?"

"I didn't get a chance to go into details. He came like half an hour ago. We were talking about some things happening at Genieland." Pari said.

"Why don't you tell him about the rest of the trip and catch up? I'm sure there's a lot about home you might have missed out in the last few weeks. Anyways, we all are not doing anything today."

Before Pari could say anything Tama Home said, "That sounds great but I can't stay here long. I'm sure Zora must already be wondering where the hell am I. In fact, I'm sure, she must have figured out that I'm here with you." He winked at her. She smiled like it was a private joke in between them.

"So, you go missing and everybody automatically assumes that you're with her?" I observed.

"Yes." He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Well, at home, we are together almost all of the time. We are always at each other's homes. This particular time though, Zora must be sure that I'm here because the last few days, I've wanted to visit Pari. She would go mad if it weren't for me. She can't stay away from me for so long."

"That's true." She nodded her head frantically. He kissed her on her forehead and smiled at her. He just had his hand around her waist and kissed her forehead. They smiled at each other like the world didn't exist. This was so much more intimate than anything I've ever seen. They didn't even have to kiss each other and the relationship in between them was evident. I was jealous. First time, in my life, I was purely jealous. This intimacy made me doubt if their relationship was really as platonic as she claimed it to be. "He's my support system." She added.

"Don't you have to stay in your bottle/lamp when you don't have a master? How can you be at each other's places?" I was thoroughly confused.

"Actually, as long as we appear when we are summoned, it's totally cool where we stay. The only thing is we're tied to our bottles. Apparently, earlier the rule was to stay in our bottles. But when Mila became a genie like way before us, she hated the being her bottle. She was very claustrophobic. She petitioned to the Gods to lift this rule. After a lot of trials, this rule was finally lifted. Phew!" he explained.

"Oh!" That was all I could manage to say. There was so much history with genies that sometimes it made my head spin. "You should at least have breakfast with us." I insisted. I needed to move the topic away from history. As much as I enjoyed listening to genie history, now was not the time. I was angry that they were standing so close to each other. I was feeling something else but my mind could not register what I was feeling. It was more than jealousy if there's anything like it.

"No, I really should get going. Or else, Zora will have my head on a platter."

"Tama Home stay. Just for breakfast." She pouted.

He chuckled. "Pari, you know, I love to spend time with you. Not today, though. Lots of birthdays to convert." I didn't even now what he meant but I could trace sarcasm in his voice.

She laughed. "Why don't you make a template on excel and feed the data accordingly? In fact, I'm surprised, being such a tech-savvy genie, you didn't think about it." Now, I really had no clue what she said.

"Oh my dear Pari! You are so smart. You think, I would not have thought of it? I did think about it. But first I need to understand the system we are using to convert dates, and then I can make a template. It's a complicated system."

"I knew, I became friends with you for a reason." She said with mock pride.

He snorted, "Ya, right! Come here, you!" He hugged her. The hug lingered longer than I would have liked. He turned towards me and said, "It was nice meeting you. It's the first time, I've met one of Pari's masters. Actually, it's the first time I'm meeting anybody's master. Just don't keep her here long."

"Once, I have thought of my wishes, I will ask her to fulfil them quickly so she can get back to you soon." My voice filled with sarcasm. It was not missed by both of them but they didn't react on it.

Now that I thought about the wishes, I realised, I didn't really need anything from a genie. I mean, I had enough wealth that it would last a few generations after me even if they didn't earn a living. I didn't need fame. I had lot of fame. More like infamy. I was the bad boy of the British wizarding world currently. Girls my age and even some older, were throwing themselves at me, because let's face it, women love bad boys! Men hate me either for what I've done or women throwing themselves at me. I could make her change that. But if she changed that, I probably wouldn't understand all that happened in this new light. So, I can't ask her to change that.

Could I ask her to forget Tama Home? Could I ask for her friendship with him to go bad? Could I ask her to hate Tama Home? Every second, I had different thought coming to my head. They were not very good thoughts. I could see that Tama Home was a big part of her life. She would be incomplete without him. But without him out of the picture, I don't think, I will ever get Pari for myself. I want her for myself. But with him around, I know she will never truly become mine. She would never leave him, I can see it in the way they look at each other. But even, we look at each other the same way. Does that mean she has similar feelings for both of us?

No, I can't ask her to separate herself from him. Salazar must be rolling in his grave, right now, because I discarded my dirty thought for someone else's happiness.

That's the only reason, I've not wished for anything till now. I don't really have anything I want that I can't get myself. Or at least, I can't think of anything I need. The fact that I'm not rotting in Askaban right now, is a big blessing in itself, so I've no idea, what to ask for.

"No need to hurry." He said breaking my thoughts. "We have all the time in the world. Since, we are immortal, time has no meaning for us."

I could ask for immortality and then I could fight this guy off to get Pari. Knowing Pari, I know that she will never willing give someone immortality. And seeing how much she wishes for a normal mortal life, I know that being immortal will not make me happy for a long time. But I don't have to be immortal by becoming a genie. No, we wizards have our own ways.

I know for a fact that the Sorcerer's Stone was destroyed. There must be a way to make another one. I'm sure Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel may have destroyed every evidence of that, There's also unicorn blood. But do I have the courage to go into the Forbidden Forest and find a unicorn let alone kill it? I could make a horcrux. I can't believe, I just thought that. No, Potter told me that to make a horcrux, you have to kill someone. When I could not kill the old, frail and dying Dumbledore, how can I kill someone else? And all this for whom? At this point, I'm not sure about her feelings for me.

"I know what you mean. Pari told me." I said.

"I should go now." He hugged her yet again. This time, he even kissed her on her forehead. The way, he was looking at her, I could tell he wanted to kiss her. The kiss on her forehead lingered. I cleared my throat loudly wondering if that would break them apart. And it worked. He told me goodbye again and he left in his vapour form. I waited until he was completely out of sight.

"Do you love him?" I could not hold it in any longer. "Because from where I see it, Boy! It sure looks like it." My voice was filled with anger and sarcasm.

"I told you before. Things are not like that in between Tama Home and I. We are best friends."

"Ya, Best friends who want to marry each other."

"Look, Master. I know, you are angry. Trust me, I didn't plan any of it. He showed up, And what do you expect me to do? Send him off. I missed him. Only when I saw him today, I realised how much I miss him. When he insisted on meeting you, I could not refuse. You have every right to be angry with me. But you have no right be angry at Tama Home or even take it out on him. Don't think, I didn't miss the snide remarks and sarcasm. He was being nice to you. It must have felt like an ambush, I'm sorry."

"You don't tell me about my rights. I know very well the things I'm allowed and not allowed to do. So, you're going to side with Tama Home on everything." I was angry about the things she just said.

She sighed. "Are you going to stop talking to me again?" She sounded so sad. Her tone made me forget all the anger, I felt a moment ago. Her question threw me completely off guard. I just wanted to wrap my hands around her and pull her in a hug and never let her go. But for some reason, I was frozen to my spot. I was battling in between the anger that was building again and the love and affection, I feel for her. I stared at her for a while. Neither of us dropped our gaze.

After what felt like an eternity, I walked out of the room without saying a word.

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**Please read and review! thank you for reading! Today is my birthday so this chapter is special for me!**

**Neepa :-)**


	15. Paradise Lost

Chapter 15 : Paradise Lost

After leaving the room, I went to the dining hall. I needed to find some peace. But it was a wrong move. Everybody was still in the dining hall. Everyone was talking merrily. When they saw me come, the first question, I get is – "Where is Pari?"

Like I wasn't already agitated and the first question, I get is about her. "She just met her boyfriend after a long time, so she's reliving those moments."

"Boyfriend?" They all said in unison.

I sighed. Why on earth did I have to open my mouth? Now, I will have to answer them. "I'm kidding. She's in the room. You can go get her if you want."

"But you both come down together everyday? So, what happened today?" Pans asked.

Boy, these people are really getting on my nerves. This trip has blurred all the boundaries of privacy in between us. This is what happens, when you go out with friends and they magically expect you to be open with them about everything. What do I tell them now? "She needed some time for herself."

"Oh! Is she getting ready for your day together?" Blaise winked at me. At least, he lightened the mood. But I had a feeling, he knew what was going on. Maybe, he has an inkling.

"Yes." I mentally thanked Blaise. "She's confused about what to wear."

"Well, call her. We need to discuss some things with her." Daph said.

"What do you have to discuss with her?" I asked.

"Girl Talk. Do you want me to elaborate on it?" Daph asked back.

"No, I think, I understand." I didn't want to talk to her right now. But if I didn't call her now, I will be subjected to an interrogation. "Pari."

"Yes, Master." She sounded serious. You know, business tone.

"I asked him to call you, Pari." Daph said. Then the girls started talking amongst themselves. That's when I noticed that she looked really beautiful in her white dress, ethereally beautiful. Did she really make this effort for me? I shouldn't get ahead of myself. Every time, my thoughts went back to the way his hands were wrapped around her waist. Or the way, she looked at him and he looked back at her. There was just so much in between them. I don't think, I can ever take that place. I'm so jealous and angry, right now.

Soon, everybody left the dining room. Each person was doing something different today. Only Pari and I were left in the room. I was just about to leave the room as well when Pari said something.

"What? I didn't hear what you said." I said.

"You don't have to be angry. It was not like I purposely brought him here."

"It's not just that, Pari. I saw the way you look at him. It's undeniable that there's something in between you and him."

"You need to understand that we have always been there for each other and old habits die hard. He's a big part of my life."

Somehow, though the words she used were making sense to me, I just, didn't want to give into my rational side. "You do love him, don't you?"

"Yes." I was shocked she said that. "But not the way that he loves me."

"So, what's going on in between us? Is this supposed to be some sort of a fun thing? Is this some sort of a summer fling?"

She looked sad. "I can't believe you just said that. That was so mean, Master! I never thought about this as a fling."

"Well, whatever, you're doing with me looks like a fling to me. Neither are you fully with me nor with him. You can't stay in between all the time. I know, time has no value for you but it does to me. I'm mortal and I'm not getting any younger. You can't be there for both of us." She was quiet. She looked abashed. She started looking at the floor.

"In case, you ever got free, you wouldn't come to me, would you?" I can't believe I used these words. I can't believe I said these words out.

She looked at me with sadness in her eyes. She swallowed and said quietly, "Maybe not."

"Then why are we doing this when you know what you want, Pari?"

"Master, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

This enraged me. This was not an answer to my question. I stood up from my seat, walked up to where she was sitting and I pulled her into my arms and I placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "You were saying!" I sneered.

"You tricked me, Master. You caught me off-guard." She said.

"The just answer my question, don't say something, I didn't ask for." I almost yelled at her. It's a good thing there was no one around except for the elves. I'm sure they would not tell anyone about this. "Why are we doing this?"

I looked into her eyes. She looked intimidated by me. She opened her mouth to say something but she shut it, she did that a few times but she wasn't able to say anything. "I dunno."

I freed her from my arms and backed up a little. I was shocked by her answer. I expected to say something better. Something like she likes me as well. Something like she's confused. Something like she needs time to figure this out. That would mean that I at least stand somewhere for her. But 'I dunno' also means that she's thinking about us, right?

That's the thing. I can't keep waiting around. We all went through war. We all are recovering. I'm recovering as well. As much as this trip has helped me feel alive again, so has Pari. She made things seem brighter than they really were. With her around, it's like I can do anything – literally and figuratively. I just need her to be next to me. The fact that I can start off afresh with her is reassuring. Apart from my mother and my friends everybody judges me. And here is this beautiful stranger who makes me feel as light as a feather.

I know, it doesn't sound like me. But the war has changed my perspective about being with girls. Earlier, I dated girls and I slept with a few of them just for fun. But now, I want to have fun with only one person and that's Pari. It's just been close to three months since I met her but she has me wrapped around her little finger. I would do almost everything she asks me to, only if she chooses me.

I doubt that would happen. I wish she were sure about me. I need someone who is sure about me. On the outside, I may seem like the same confident boy, I always was. But on the inside, I doubt myself most of the time. I keep thinking if what I'm doing is the right thing. If I didn't spend the first two weeks after war helping with Hogwarts, I'm sure I would have done something to myself. Everybody looked at me with either anger or pity. And both those looks made me feel very inferior. Very few had concern in their eyes for me.

And then Pari looked at me with awe the first time she saw me. She felt something and I felt something as well. The more I think about it, the more I realise that we can't be together. I suppose, genies have some 'mate amongst themselves' rule.

"Do you feel something for me?"

She was surprised by my question. She dropped her gaze. "Yes."

"What is it? What is it that you feel?" Honestly, I'm feeling extremely sappy asking her all these questions, I need to know if there's even a flicker of hope. I'm sure no man has ever asked these kinds of questions before, certainly not a Malfoy. If Father were here right now, he would call me pathetic.

She looked at me like she was calculating her words. "I like you. A lot. I've never felt this way before for anyone. Not even Tama Home. You get me heart racing." There was a spark in her eyes when she said that but she voice was sad.

"There's a 'but', isn't there?"

She sighed. "But no matter how much I like you, I will never leave Tama Home. I owe him my sanity. If we had not become friends, I would have become a very rogue genie. In fact, I owe him everything. He's been my constant all this time."

That's what I need – someone to be my constant. "What if I don't want to let you go?"

She smirked. "Someday or the other you have to make your wishes. You don't intend on keeping me here till you're alive?"

That does sound like a good prospect. Better than the thoughts swimming in my head. But if I kept her for long here, she'll start resenting me. I don't want that to happen. "What if I do intend it?"

"Well then, after you die, I'll be free for sure."

"Hmmm…" I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. It didn't take her long to respond. We kept kissing for a while. Then I trailed kisses on her jaw and neck. I went back to kissing her soft lips again. When I pulled back, I saw that I had given her a hickey on the base of her neck. I touched it tentatively. I felt uplifted when I saw it. I felt myself swell with pride that I had done this. Looking at her with her slightly swollen lips, the hickey and that dress, I just could not resist myself.

I carried her in my arms. She gave a little shout. Then I apparated to the bedroom because running up the stairs would cost me precious time. I threw her on the bed and got on top of her and started kissing her with a lot of hunger. The best part of about doing this was that she responded with equal fervour. That's all the encouragement I needed. It took a lot of self-control to not going beyond snogging because she would not appreciate it.

After what felt like a long time, we stopped kissing each other. We just laid in bed, arms around each other, each lost in their on thoughts. I looked at her, so beautiful, I wish we could be stuck in this moment forever. I cupped her cheeks in my hands and kissed her on her forehead. I looked into her eyes, "I had to do this one last time before I could let you go."

She looked confused. "Last time? Let me go? What do you mean?"

I tried to hold in whatever emotions I was feeling. I put on my stoic mask and sat up. "I'm ready to make my wish now." She nodded though she looked confused. "I wish to set you free."

She was shocked now. She didn't say anything for a few seconds. "You know what that would mean for us?" I nodded. She had tears in her eyes. My stoic resolve was dripping away as tears escaped from her eyes. "And yet, you want it?"

I had to clear my throat so my voice wouldn't sound broken. "Honestly, I don't need anything that you could give me. I have all the things I need and want. If there were something, I would have asked for it. But I really do not have any wishes right now. I thought, it would be better if I can use this wish to give you something that you want the most."

She was not able to speak and she kept crying. I hugged her tightly in my arms. "You've wanted freedom for so long, when you're getting it why are you crying?"

"You know, why I'm crying." She said accusingly.

"Well, you're a very tardy genie. I didn't think, I would have to wait for you to fulfil my wish." I said something completely different because I didn't want her to cry. It was breaking me inside to see her like this. In a twisted way, I also felt good because the tears she was crying were for me. At least now, I know that she feels the same way for me and it's not just me who has feelings for her.

"So, you want to get rid off me now?"

"If that's what you want to think."

"Is it ok if I stay until the others come back and I tell them good-bye?" I felt bad she asked me that. I had forgotten that she had almost become friends with everybody.

"I think, it's best if you leave before they come back. They won't let you go if you tell them you're going."

She understood. "Okay." She tightened the hug and pulled me closer. She put her hand on my chest and listened to my heartbeat. "Being with you is like paradise, it doesn't last long but it's beautiful."

If she stayed here any longer, I knew I would start crying and I might change my mind. "You should go now." She looked at me like I hurt her a lot. But she got out of my arms and wiped the tears off her face and put on a poker face.

"If that's what you want." She flicker her fingers. I felt the entire room fill with magical energy for a few minutes. She kept looking at me. I was doing the same. Then the magic disappeared. "It's done."

"Okay."

"Thank you. This is very kind of you. I will never forget you."

I nodded. "Well, have a get life ahead of you. Have a great wedding." I said.

She face was a mosaic of emotions. "Thanks." She said sarcastically. "I'll take your leave now." I nodded. She walked towards me and said, "You're amazing Draco. Thank you for everything." She kissed me softly and disappeared.

All that my brain registered was her saying my name. My brain kept repeating it.

* * *

**The wedding season has begun in India so I'll be irregular with uploading chapters the next few weeks as i will be busy traveling to different places to attend different weddings.**

**Please read and review! Thanks for reading!**

**Neepa :-)**


	16. Burn

Chapter 16 : Burn

"Draco." "Draco." "Draco." "Draco."

That's all I could hear. My name sounded so good from her mouth. The moment I heard her say my name, I regretted letting her go. But my only consolation was – now, she won't have to call anyone else 'master'. She was finally free. Pari never expressed in words that she wanted to be free but I could tell she longed for it. But now that she was gone, I felt so empty. I could not stop hearing her voice say my name.

"Puff" I called out.

Puff appeared by the bed with a loud crack. "Master Draco, what you do you want Puff to do for you?"

"Get me a bottle of Firewhiskey." I ordered.

"Right away, Master Draco." He left and appeared again with a bottle of firewhiskey and a glass. "Here you go, Master Draco."

"Thank you. Please, leave them at the nightstand." I didn't have to be rude to Puff just because I was angry that Pari left. He did what I told him and left me alone.

I looked at the bottle, deciding if drinking it would make me feel better. The still rational side of myself told me, "You don't have to do this, Draco."

The irrational side of myself said, "You just want to make yourself feel better, drinking a little will not harm you in anyway."

"Liquor is never the answer. Draco, you're hurt but that does not mean that you stoop down to drinking, to make yourself feel better. Liquor is only the short-term solution. Tomorrow, you will regret drinking it." Rational side argued.

"You can think about tomorrow, when tomorrow arrives. Right now, you just want to feel better. Sometimes short-term solutions are more appealing than the long-term solutions. Besides, since when is it wrong for an eighteen year old to be irrational once in a while? It's okay to let loose sometimes." Irrational side argued.

Honestly, I was more bent on being irrational today. I just stared blankly at the bottle. I sat on the bed with my head in my palms. It was easy to say that I wanted to let her go. But now that she was gone… I don't even know what I feel anymore. I wish there was a way to find Genieland. I would have followed her there. Almost three months I spent with her and I never asked her the location of Genieland. I have a feeling that Genieland is not accessible to mortals. But I could have asked at least.

"Pari." I called out. Wondering if she could hear me. I want to tell her that I don't want her to go. It was so easy with her. I waited for a few seconds but when she didn't appear, I knew she could not hear me anymore. I guess, we broke our communication link.

"Come back, Pari." I choked out. She didn't appear. Now, I got angry. I picked up the bottle and opened it. I drank directly from the bottle. I took a few sips and then I had to stop for a while. I felt the liquor spread through my system. I could feel the fire spread through my system. I took a few more sips. I looked at the mirror and I got really angry when I looked at myself.

I walked towards my reflection and shouted, "What the hell were you thinking? You just let her go. How are you going to find her again, you arsehole? It was so easy for you to say that I have to let you go. Now she's gone and what do you have? NOTHING! That's what you have. That's all you'll ever get. You're such a dickhead!"

I was waiting for my reflection to say something in return. But the silence angered me. "Diffindo." I shouted at the mirror. The mirror burst into little shards and fell on the floor. I drank some more. When the finished the bottle, I called Puff to get me another bottle. As soon as he gave me the bottle, I asked him to leave. Even if he was concerned about the mirror, I didn't give him enough time to ask me about it.

With every sip of firewhiskey, I was destroying a piece of the furniture in my room. "Diffindo". "Reducto." "Incendio." These were the spells I used often. When the second bottle was over, I ordered another one. I had destroyed everything but the bed. I damaged the already damaged furniture even more. By the time, I had finished half of this bottle, I was having trouble standing straight. I was swaying with every step I took.

I looked at the bed. I looked at it with disgust. I saw Pari and I sleeping there. I saw myself kissing her. I could hear the moans she made when I kissed her. I saw her in my arms. I saw her sleeping like a baby in my arms. The first night that we slept together, I watched her the entire night. I watched how she had her mouth open a little when she slept. She looked so adorable. I watched her breathe. I watched her because I felt I was in some sort of a dream. I was afraid to fall asleep that night. I was afraid that she wouldn't be here next to me when I wake up. Hence, I decided to stay up watch her.

I didn't realise that tears had started to roll down my face until I tasted a few salty teardrops on my lips. I can't believe I'm crying for a girl. During the war, I cried sometimes because I feared for my life. If my father were here right now, I would have disgusted him. Malfoys do not cry for girls, they make girls cry for them. But lately, I've been questioning everything that I have been told since I was a kid. I don't understand the need to hide our feelings all the time. Look where all his 'Malfoys are the greatest' rules got my father.

I laughed as I thought about my father. My own laugh sounded really sinister to my ears. I looked at the bed again. The images just would not stop appearing. Soon, my images turned into the fantasies, I only dreamt off. I assumed I would do those things to her when she would allow me to. I wish, I could kiss her again. I wish, I could feel her warmth against my skin again.

Now, I saw Pari with Tama Home on the bed. He was kissing her. He was biting her lips, earlobes and neck. He was trailing kisses all over her face and neck. Their fingers were entwined. He was on top of her. He was taking off her clothes. This annoyed me the most.

"Aaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh…." I shouted. "Incendio." I yelled at the bed. It burst into flames. Pari and Tama Home disappeared. I sat on the floor and watched the bed go up in flames. It gave me an odd sort of satisfaction watching the bed burn.

* * *

**Blaise**

Daph, Pans, Theo and I came back the villa sometime before lunch. We were not sure what more to do in Paris. Every place, we visited it with the gang before. We were bored of walking around on the promenades. It would mean something else completely if it was with someone you were in love with, but with friends, there's only so much you could pretend to enjoy romantic places. My mind always drifted to Ginerva Weasley though I was with my friends.

As soon as we got back to the villa, Puff came running towards us. He looked really worried. "What's wrong, Puff?" I asked.

"Master Blaise, Master Draco locked himself in his room. He will not let any of the elves to bring him out of the room. It is burning."

I panicked. "What?" I ran towards his room. Too bad, I could not apparate to his room. Theo, Pans and Daph followed me. There was smoke coming out of the door.

I pointed my wand at the door and shouted, "Alohomora." Theo and I went in. We found Drake passed out on the floor with an empty bottle of firewhiskey. Theo and I brought him out. He was struggling against us but we had a strong grip on him. We took him to the nearest bedroom and laid him on the bed.

"What the hell happened, Puff?" Theo asked.

"After you all left, Master Draco and Miss Pari had a conversation. After a few minutes, Master called Puff and asked Puff to get a firewhiskey. Master asked me to leave. Master summoned me only when he wanted me to get more firewhiskey. When Puff saw fire in the room, Puff tried to move Master but Master ordered me to stay out of the room. He ordered the other elves to stay out as well."

"Where is Pari?" Pans asked.

"I do not know, Miss Pansy. I have not seen Miss Pari since Master Draco took her to his room."

"Whatever happened in between them must have triggered this sort of behaviour in Drake." Daph deduced. Nobody said anything else but all of us were thinking along the same lines. The elves brought us some sandwiches and pumpkin juice. None of us spoke or left the room.

What happened in between Drake and Pari? What would drive Draco to react this way?

After an hour, Millie, Greg, Trace and Ad were back as well. We told them what happened. They were shocked. Obviously, nobody would be getting any more answers until Drake was awake. After what seemed like hours, Draco seemed to move in the bed. I summoned Sonny and asked her to get some pepper-up potion for Draco.

"How are you feeling now, mate?" I asked

"Argh! My head hurts!" Drake said.

I snorted. "That's bound to happen if you down three bottles of firewhiskey at one go. It's surprising that you didn't pass out for a longer period of time."

"Master Blaise, here is the potion you asked for." Sonny said.

I took the potion from her and said, "Thank you, Sonny. I will call you if I need anything else." She disapparated with a loud crack. I turned to Draco and handed him the potion, "Here Drake, have this, you'll feel better." Actually, I was not sure if the potion would work. Pepper-up potion helps in case of small hangovers. But will it work on Drake? Not sure! It's one of those trial and error experiments! He drank it in one go! Drinking in one go looks like a pattern.

"Draco, are you feeling better?" Pans asked. The concern was unmistakeable in her voice.

"Better than what I felt before I took the potion." He said while holding his head in his hands.

Theo patted him on his back and said, "Even potions have limitations." He so should not have patted him on the back now.

Draco gave him an angry look, "Thanks for the fun fact, Theo. I'll keep that in mind the next time." He sounded bitter.

"So, mind telling us why you had a drinking party without inviting any of us?" I had to test the waters. It was necessary to find out if Draco was going to tell us anything or just let it be for now.

"Where's Pari? I haven't seen her since we got back in the afternoon." Daph said.

There was a moment of sadness in his eyes at Daph's question. But he covered it as quickly as it appeared. "She's gone." He said plainly.

"What do you mean gone?" Pans asked.

"I freed her, so, she's gone." Was that pain I heard in Draco's voice? What's the right thing to say in a situation like this?

"Why'd you do that?" Millie asked. Okay, that's definitely not the thing to say!

He had that 'did-she-really-ask-that' look on his face. A minute later he had a thoughtful look on his face. Finally he spoke, "A lot of her dreams were stuck on 'if-I-were-free'. I wanted to give it to her. And besides, I had no wishes to make. I have everything. I know, the Malfoy name is looked down upon right now but I will change that."

He will not speak any more on this now. "So, we will never meet her again?" Surprisingly Pans asked though it was bad timing.

Draco didn't seem to be his usual self. He would have lashed out if it were the pre-war time. "I don't think so, Pans!"

We were all quiet for a while. Each not knowing what to say. Each lost in their thoughts. I knew, I was going to miss her. I saw Draco heal around her, I wondered if Draco will continue healing even though she was gone.

* * *

**Hey, I am so sorry, it took me so long to upload a new chapter. Like I mentioned, it's wedding season, here in India! I attended three weddings already! Another wedding to attend this weekend! I'm excited about this one! Apart from attending weddings, I was even traveling. I visited five new places - Bodh Gaya, Dehradun, Mussoorie, Rishikesh and Haridwar! I even went river rafting in Rishikesh...it had always been a dream of mine to go river rafting in Rishikesh! Yeah for me!**

**Enough about me! Please read and review, follow or favourite the story! A little feedback would help me! I will do my best to make this a good story! Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**


	17. Free

Chapter 17 : Free

Saying goodbye is hard. I never even thought I would be saying goodbye to somebody. All of us genies are like a huge family, stuck together for eternity. So, there's really no question of saying goodbye. Now, I was going back home - free. Finally, I have what I've been waiting for so long. Never will I have to call anybody 'Master'. I'm my own master now. No more living in a silly little bottle. It's a different thing that I hardly ever stayed in my bottle.

In short, I have everything now except for mortality. Yet, my freedom seems incomplete. I should be at home right now and wait for my freedom party to begin. Tama Home would be so happy that I'm free now. Everyone would be happy for me, some even jealous of me but nonetheless they would be happy. We genies are party freaks! We party for the smallest of reasons. There was a time when these parties made me really happy. That was before Draco came into my life.

The last few hours, I've been doing my best not to think about anything else but Draco. Every time, I think about him, I start crying. Maybe that's the reason, I don't want to go home yet. Nobody would understand why I was crying despite being free. It would be pretty difficult to explain that. So, for now, I'm staying on the Eiffel Tower. Why here? I'm not sure.

I'll sit here until I can get a grip of my emotions. Draco fell for me. I wish, I could return his feelings but doing that would mean hurting Tama Home. I owe Tama Home every bit of my sanity. He is my family, my friend and somebody I can lean on. How can I leave him for somebody I just met? My rational side tells me that this is the right to do.

I felt an instant connection when I met Draco. When he would kiss me, I wanted him to keep on kissing me. I never wanted it to stop. My heart would race every time we were on bed together. The best thing about him – he would stop doing anything I was uncomfortable with. Since, he would stop so easily, I felt like doing whatever he wanted me to do. There were times when he would be talking to his friends and I would just look at him, in a totally non-creepy way. He has a beautiful smile. And when his smile is directed at me, I forget everything. I read about all these sort of things in books. Experiencing these feelings, I thought was non-fictionally impossible.

I do not feel my heart skip a beat for Tama Home. I don't feel those things for him. I feel love for him but it's not the same kind of love. It's the kind of love you feel for family, for friends but not for the kind of love you feel for the person you want to spend your life with. I feel a strong sense of affection and gratitude. I wonder, if Tama Home will be interested in taking it slow. I wonder, if he'll want to tie the knot soon. I hope, I have some time to hold myself together.

"Pari, if you stay here longer, you will lose your mind. Your thoughts have no sense of direction right now. It's better to go back home and face whatever has to happen rather than sitting here." I told myself. I got up and left.

I decided to see Tama Home first and then go to Zora. I went to Tama Home's place. He was sitting on his couch with his laptop. He saw me and a huge smile appeared on his face. I will never get used to being welcomed like that. Effortlessly, a smile appeared on my face too. He got up from the couch and gave me a bear hug. "What are you doing here? I just saw you this morning. Missed me already."

I snorted. "You wish!" I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Right. So is there a reason for this surprise visit? Or did you come here because I complained in the morning?" He asked.

"Should there always be a reason for me to visit you?" I asked innocently. It's really surprisingly how he can make me forget the pain I'm feeling, even if it's just for a short while.

"No. I'm asking because you've been missing for the past few months."

"Actually, there's a reason I came."

"I knew it! You vixen!" I gave him a look. I looked around the room to find the right words in my head. "Are you going to tell me?" He was impatient. If there was anything he didn't like, it was being kept in suspense.

"I…I…I'm free." I bit my lower lip as soon as I said it. I looked up at him nervously.

He looked confused. "I'm sorry what? I wasn't able to hear you when you dropped your voice so unexpectedly."

"I'm free." I said a bit louder.

He was shocked, "What? Are you serious? I expected you to be jumping out of joy when this would happen." He hugged me tightly and kissed me on my forehead.

"I guess, it has not sunk in yet. It still feels pretty unreal. I'm shocked."

"I'm shocked too. How did it happen? Did your master…hmmm?" He sounded hesitant.

I understood what he meant. "No, no, no! He is fine. He voluntarily let me go. He said he had almost everything and that he didn't have any wishes. He freed me voluntarily. I guess, that's why I'm finding it hard to believe." And also other things he said make it hard for me to believe.

"Voluntarily? That too, by a wizard! Boy, are you lucky!" He exclaimed.

"I'm still a little afraid because I feel someone will pop up from somewhere and say 'You've just been punked!' You think that's possible? Nobody has been freed voluntarily before."

He laughed. "Getting punked! Seriously, you could have been a bit more original! I can understand what you're feeling. Why do you sit for a while and ponder on it before you announce it to Zora and Amun?"

"I think, you're right." I was absolutely terrified of telling them. Telling them would mean that I will never be around Draco again.

"When I met him in the morning, I didn't get the feeling that he would set you free. He looked like one of those people who take advantage of the situation and get what he wants." He mused.

"The war changed him. Not just him but all his friends as well. It's made them question everything they've been told since they were kids. They are learning what to accept and what not to." I was feeling defensive towards them, most of all Draco.

"Wow, you seem to have observed them a lot."

"Occupational Hazard!" I joked. "Since, I've lived here so long, observing people has become something like a hobby."

"Hasn't it become a hobby for all of us?" He winked. "You ready to meet them now?"

I took a deep breath. "Now better than never." He smiled at me. We held hands and we vapour-travelled to Zora and Amun.

* * *

"Pari, Tama Home, what a pleasant surprise!" Zora said as soon as we appeared in her drawing room. "What brings you here?" She asked as she hugged me and then hugged him as well.

"Who's here, Zora?" Amun called out from the bedroom, I think.

"It's Pari and Tama Home." She called back. She turned back to us, "So, what's going on?"

Amun came out to the drawing room and scooped me up in a bear hug and twirled me around. I laughed. "Where the hell have you been, kiddo?! You've been a stranger these past few months." Amun and I have very father-daughter type of relationship. Zora and Amun have two sons. Both Immortal. Turns out that immortal beings give birth to immortal babies. But Amun has always wanted a daughter and I fit the bill perfectly. He's also pretty protective of me.

I looked down at the floor guiltily. "I've been busy. It's a long story. I'll tell you about it when we both have free time."

He laughed. "Right! Free time! Since we are so busy all the time!"

"If you both are finished, I would like to know why you both are here at this hour." Zora never had patience with me because I play too many pranks on her. I change the food on her fork right before she bites into it. It riles her up a lot. Sometimes, I change her clothes into something embarrassing while she's making some really important announcement in front of all the genies. The consequences have not been good but it was all worth it.

"She's got great news!" Tama Home announced.

I felt a bit nervous now that all the attention was on me. "I'm free."

"Are you serious?" Amun asked. I nodded and he scooped me into yet another bear hug. He released me and looked at Zora, "Did you feel anything, honey?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "I didn't." She looked confused.

I was confused by their exchange. "What are you both talking about?"

"Kiddo, you see when a genie is free we feel like a tingle in our bodies. I mean, only Amun and I since we are the first male and female genie. That's how we know that someone is free. But I didn't feel any tingle today." Zora may not like me for my pranks but she likes me too. She's more like the stern mother to the entire Genieland.

"Maybe because I was set free voluntarily by my master." I guessed.

Amun and Zora shared a look. "Voluntary?" Amun asked. I nodded. "That's great!" His voice didn't match his words.

Zora hugged me. "You finally have the freedom, you've always longed for. How about we announce it to everybody, first thing in the morning?" She asked cheerfully.

"That sounds good. I'm sure everybody must be asleep by now. And if you tell them tomorrow, I'm sure we'll party all day and night long." I said though I really was not in the mood for partying.

Zora seem to hear my hesitance. "You don't sound too excited."

"It's just not sunk in yet. I'm just shocked it happened at all."

"Not everyday somebody gets free voluntarily." Amun said.

"I know. I guess, by tomorrow, I will be able to let it all sink in." I said. Admitting it to Tama Home, Zora and Amun made it all seem real.

"Now, Tama Home and you can settle down." Amun said.

Tama Home and I hadn't discussed that yet. Now that they brought it up, I didn't know what to say. Tama Home saved me. "We have not talked about it yet."

"Non sense! What's to talk about? You both have practically been together since we can remember. What do you want to wait for now?" Zora said.

Boy was this is embarrassing! This is how parents do it, don't they! "Zora, Amun, I swear, we are not talking about this right now. But I'm sure we will someday." Tama Home seemed to be looking at me intently while I said that. "I think we should go now."

"Ya, I agree." He said.

We said our good nights and we left their place and vapour-travelled to my place. Tama Home turned to me and said, "So, the settling down thing is still on the table, ah?"

I surprised he asked that. "Umm…yes! You don't want it to be?" I felt hopeful for a moment. If he didn't want it, then I would go back to Draco right this instant.

"I want it to be on the table." Hope disappeared with a fizz. "I just didn't think, you'd want it considering that you were gone all this time and you sort of built a life."

We settled on my couch. He had his hands wrapped around my body. I was taking as much time as possible to answer. "Like you told me before, that was all temporary, right? But you have been my constant through all this."

He kissed me on my forehead. "You don't have to think about all this tonight, Pari. We have plenty of time. Okay?" I smiled and nodded at him. He came closer to me. Then before I knew it, his lips were on my lips. He kissed me softly at first. I was too shock at first but I slowly responded. His hands tightened around me. Before I knew it, I was kissing him back with equal zest.

* * *

**Zora and Amun**

"It's her!" Amun told his wife.

"Finally, it is happening. But.." Zora said.

"What is it?"

"Don't you remember the Prophecy fully?" Zora asked.

"I do."

"The one freed by free-will and decides to stay with the last master all their life, will bring freedom to the entire Genieland." Both Zora and Amun recited the prophecy.

"Bu she didn't decide to stay with the last master." Zora pondered.

"Maybe, Pari is not the one." Amun said.

"We should talk to the Gods and find out what's going on." Zora said.

"Tomorrow." Amun said and Zora agreed.

* * *

**Merry Christmas! :-)**

**Please read and review! Thanks for reading...:-)**

**Neepa**


	18. Missing You

Chapter 18 : Missing you

It was overwhelming to see so many people being worried for me. The only person, I was sure would worry for me was my mother. But seeing my childhood friends around me when I woke up made me feel good. I had no idea that I had so many people in my corner. At first, I thought, it was because of this 'Euro trip' (like Pari put it) that we all became good friends. But when I thought more about it, I realised, it was not just the trip but also everything we've been through. We were always good friends but it was hidden under all the pureblood etiquette and rules.

Merlin, in the Pureblood Society, even being friends had rules! I just realised it. I remember how my father use to tell me not to associate with children of certain pureblood families because they were either beneath us or poor or too liberal in their thoughts. But now that we were breaking rules anyways, we were doing it all the way. For once, I didn't feel jealous of Potter because he has friends. Now, I have friends too. In fact, we always had each other, we just didn't know, we'd stick together as friends. But I still don't know which of them are 'my midnight Patronus message' friends! I snorted. First, I need to produce a Patronus to send my friends a Patronus message in the middle of the night.

When I was up for it, we decided to have dinner. It was way past dinnertime so we decided to have midnight dinner/supper/snack/breakfast or whatever it can be called.

Greg summoned Puff. He apparated into the room with a loud crack. That hurt my head. "What can Puff do for Masters and Misses?"

"Set up the dinner table, we'll be there in ten minutes." Greg ordered.

Puff's eyes actually shone with gratitude. "Thank you, sir! Puff and Sonny will set up the table now! Anything else, Master Gregory?"

Greg was a little confused by Puff words. "Umm…No, thanks!" Puff disapparated with a loud crack. Damn! Can't they apparate more quietly! "Why did he thank me?"

Millie laughed, "That's because you told him we would be eating now. Remember, they were preparing a huge feast for us today, darling?"

"Right, I forgot all about it." His face went red.

"Oh Greggy! You forgot about the food that was going to be prepared. What happened to you? Did you hit your head somewhere?" Theo asked with mock concern.

"Shut up, Theo. It just slipped out of my mind."

"Theo, how will he remember it when he's so lost in Millie here!" Blaise commented. Millie went red in embarrassment.

Millie hit Blaise on his hand. "Shut up, Blaise."

"Come on, Mills! I don't think Blaise is exaggerating." Daph added. Greg and Millie were teased for a while until Sonny told us that the table was set.

* * *

At first, when we settled down at the dinner table, we were quiet. We didn't speak. We kept munching our food. The elves had really outdone themselves. I wish, Pari was here to see that the elves had indeed prepared an exquisite dinner. Pari! I wish, she were here not just to see this exquisite meal but to see me, to be with me. I wish, she comes back. Great! Now that I don't have a genie, I have a wish! How much more ironical can this be!

I don't want the last night of our trip to end this way – all quiet and awkward. They are being considerate of my feelings and trying not to bring Pari up. I have to say something. "So, I can't believe this is almost over and we start Hogwarts in a week!"

"I can't believe it's over. It feels like just yesterday that we started of our trip in Turkey." Daph said.

"Oh Turkey! What a beautiful place! What beautiful women!" Blaise said.

"Blaise. Do you ever stop thinking about women?" Pans asked irritably.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Pans. But no!" he replied coolly.

Pans shot him a look. "But Turkey is really a very amazing country. The belly-dancing lesson was so good. I will never forget that experience."

"For me, it's all the adventure sports we did! That adrenaline rush! I've never felt anything like that." Trace stated her point of view. Ad cleared his throat. We tried our best to hide our smiles. "Ad, trust me! That's a different thing and being with you is completely different. The fact that I got to share all these experiences with you makes it even more special and precious." Trace clarified and pecked him on his cheek. Ad seemed happy with the attention.

"Nice save!" Theo coughed out. Trace threw him a dirty look and he cowered.

"For me, it was Cyprus! When Greg kissed me! The best moment of my life!" Millie said shyly.

Greg reached out and held her hand in his and pecked her on her cheek, "Me too, baby! I will also never forget all the walks we took around the streets of Paris and boat rides in Venice." Millie blushed.

"I think, Auschwitz is one place, I will never forget." Theo said thoughtfully. Everybody was lost in thoughts for a moment. I still remember how scared she was to go in there. I remember her hand in mine. I remember the feeling that place gave me. It's a place that can rip anybody of his or her prejudices.

"Seriously, I don't think if Pari had…" Pans stopped mid-sentence and everybody turned towards me. They didn't have to stop talking about somebody on my accord.

"What?" I asked. "It's okay if you mention her. She's gone but that doesn't mean we have to stop talking about her in front of me. I understand that in some conversations, she is going to be mentioned and that's all right with me." I told them. "So, I insist that you finish your sentence, Pans."

She looked at me carefully like she was measuring my words. "If Pari had not suggested it, I don't think I would have ever gone to that place." Everybody agreed.

"And the football match! That has to be crazy! I mean we've never even heard of the game and we watch a match. What more! We even enjoy it!" Blaise exclaimed. We all had to agree to that. I know, he was trying really hard so I can be okay.

The rest of the dinner, we talked about each and every country we visited in detail and discussed what all we liked there. We were at the table until we had dessert. It's really surprising that we managed to eat so much despite it being past midnight. This dinner in a strange way was possibly the best one – in terms of the food we ate and the conversation we had. After eating, we all went to our rooms to catch a few hours of sleep before we leave.

I was in the balcony when I heard someone knock my door. "Come in."

Blaise came in. "Hey Drake!" False cheerfulness!

"May I ask what are you doing in my room?" Since I burned down my original room, I was in one of the guest rooms.

"Just wanted to check on you, mate." He said it like it as the most obvious answer.

"I don't need you to check on me, Blaise. I can take care of myself."

"Yes, I can see that very clearly. Burning a room screams taking care of myself!" he retorted.

I sighed. "It was moment of weakness. Are you going to hold it against me for the rest of my life?"

"What the hell happened, Draco?"

"I don't want to talk about it." I was very close to telling him but I stopped myself.

"Listen Drake, whatever happened has to be big or else you would not have displayed your weakness so easily. So, just spill it out."

"Blaise, I said…" He gave me an angry look. "Fine. I'll tell you." Then I told him everything about Pari and Tama Home's life. I explained to him how Pari would have chosen Tama Home over me despite not loving him. Does she love me? I've a feeling she does but she doesn't know it yet.

"Whoa! That's a lot to take in!" Blaise finally admitted.

"Tell me about it!"

"But why did you let her go if you knew that she would not choose to be with you?" He asked.

"I guess, I wanted her to stay despite being free. I didn't want her to be around just because we have some sort of a master-genie relationship. I wanted something more."

"More?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I've never felt this way for a girl before. We both have been trapped in our ways. I just wanted her to be free to do what she wants. I wished I'm what she wanted."

"So, you've never felt this way even for Granger?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Blaise."

"Right! Like I believe you! Maybe now you can finally woo Granger."

I snorted. "What do you think this is, Blaise? One girl goes so I go behind someone else. Besides, I don't think, I'm someone that Granger will want to be with."

"Aha! So you do fancy Granger! I knew it!" He was honestly cheerful now.

"Could you be anymore louder?! I may have liked her all this time but Pari…I cannot stop thinking about her. I don't think, I will ever forget her."

"Who's asking you to forget her this instant? Everybody knows these things take time. Take your time."

"Blaise, Pari was like a dream come true. After the war, she seemed like this brilliantly shiny light! Like a rainbow! Like a silver lining!"

"Whoa! Romeo, hold on!"

"Who?"

"Nevermind. It's a muggle play – Romeo and Juliet."

"Okay. You think this feeling will ever go away?" I asked tentatively.

"I don't know, Draco. I mean, if you have felt anything close to what I feel for Ginny then I don't think so." Despite being the player that he is, he has never stopped having feelings for her. The only reason he has not tried to play with her is because he feels she is the one. I know, who would have thought that our Blaise could feel this way for someone!

"What is it about her that attracts you so much?" I asked him.

"Her fearlessness! She's strong but yet she's pretty girly. She a perfect balance of both beauty and brains."

"There were times when I thought you had the hots for Loony Lovegood!" I joked.

"Loony Lovegood! No way! I mean she's hot to look at. I'm sure, she has brains as well because she would not have been in Ravenclaw if she was not intelligent. But when she opens her mouth, her spell is broken. And her dressing sense is not that great either."

"Looks like you've observed Miss. Lovegood pretty well. Now, I'm doubtful if you really like Weaslette or Lovegood."

"Shut up, Drake! You're not going to rile me up. I know, whom I like." He yawned. "I want to sleep now. Good night, Draco!"

"Good Night."

After he left my room, I also fell on my bed. I was so used to Pari sleeping next to me that now the bed felt empty without her. After a lot of tossing around on the bed, I finally fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up in the morning and saw the sunlight streaming in. I felt something next to me on the bed. I turned and to my surprise, I saw Pari sleeping next to me. I could not believe my eyes. A huge smile crept on to my face. I kissed her on her cheek. She moved a little. I kept looking at her. I was afraid to even blink my eyes. I kept prodding her with my index finger in between to check if she was really here.

"Stop doing that." She ordered while I was prodding her. "I can't sleep if you do that."

"How come you're here?" I could not stop myself from asking.

A smile appeared on her face and she opened her eyes, "I could not sleep alone on my bed. I missed you. So, I decided to come back to you, Draco."

* * *

**Please read and review, follow or favourite it! I got my first review, it was such a boost, yeah me! Thanks for reading!**

**Neepa :-)**


	19. Girl Power

Chapter 19 : Girl Power

**Daphne**

After the 'interesting' dinner, we girls gathered in my room to talk about today. I knew all of us were just waiting to get some girl-time and try to make our assumptions about the situation. I know, we are not supposed to discuss our friend's problem like this, but we can't help it. Sue us for being girls! We talk!

"What do you think happened?" Millie asked the question that we all have been waiting to ask. Not just ask it but also get an answer.

"I don't know but Pari leaving so suddenly can definitely not be a coincidence." Pans deliberated.

"It's not like her to leave with out saying goodbye!" Trace mused.

"Do you think this is has to do something with this mysterious boyfriend that Draco mentioned in the morning?" I asked.

"But he said he was joking about the whole boyfriend thing." Pans pointed out.

"But Pans, why would he suddenly spring a boyfriend into the conversation? He never once mentioned a boyfriend before and neither did she." Trace countered.

"And this morning didn't you feel like he was a little too detached?" I asked. I'm asking too many questions today.

"Even Pari was behaving like…I mean, even Pari was not herself this morning." Mills pointed out.

"That's true! When I was talking to her in the morning she seemed very distracted. She kept looking at Draco every few seconds. At first, I thought it was because they were going to spend the entire day together and she was excited about it. But later, I observed that she was wary of every move she made or word she said."

"Ya, remember I asked her if she knew what Draco had planned for them and she said that she wanted to have tomato and cucumber sandwiches." Trace spoke so quickly that I had to pay very close attention to her words before I nodded my head.

"She was dressed so beautifully today, I thought, she was going to tell Draco that she was in love with him." Mills mused.

"They did look like they were in love with each other. They are so cute together. The best part about them being together was watching Drake loosen up. He was so much freer around her. She brought out a different side in him. A side, I didn't even know existed." Trace said.

Do all the people who are in love talk like this? Not that, I didn't see the changes in him. I saw them! But I don't think I could describe the changes the way that Trace just did. "Yes, he sure did." I added. Pans had not said anything for sometime now. "Pans, what are you thinking?"

She sighed. "Trace is right. I've never seen Drake this way. He was truly happy with her. Fine, Drake freed her but doesn't mean she has to leave. If she's free then she can do anything, right? She could've chosen to stay with him. So, why didn't she stay?"

She was thinking so deeply, I thought she must have thought something worthwhile but she just ended up asking the same question in different words. Well thought, Pans! "My thoughts go back to this mysterious boyfriend."

"Daph, you need to think beyond this boyfriend possibility. If there was a boyfriend do you think Draco and Pari would be kissing so freely?"

"Hmmm…" Was all I could manage to say! In the past few weeks that we had befriended her, I realised she was really great. There were times when she spoke like she was from another time. But never once did I get the feeling of her being a 'player'. My gut told me that she was not the kind of girl who dated more than one guy at a time. But how sure a person can be about someone you just met a couple of months back?

"Do you think Pari was playing Draco?" Millie asked.

"What would she play with Draco for?" Trace counter asked. "I mean, she can get whatever she wants with a flick of the finger."

"I agree with Trace. She's more powerful than all of us put together. Plus, I don't think she would want to play with someone she calls 'Master'." We all gave Pans a look. "Okay, I know doing the whole Master-Slave thing is a fantasy but this is Pari we are talking about. She maybe all liberal in most things but I think, she maybe pretty traditional when it comes to sex."

"Wow! We really did accept her into our group, didn't we? When was the last time we let anybody become a part of our circle?" Not only did she manage to become a part of the group but now we're defending her though she's gone." We laughed. "Anyways, I think Blaise must be talking to Drake right now. We can get the information out of him."

"Right! And why will Blaise let anything slip? It's as difficult to get things out of him as it is out of Drake. That's why they are best friends." Pans said.

"I think the best we can do is ask Drake himself." Mills suggested.

Pans snorted, "Do you just hear what I said?"

Mills rolled her eyes and said, "I did. But if we all girls go and ask him at once, he may tell us."

"Sounds good." Trace admitted. Pans and I agreed as well.

Pans sighed. "I can't believe vacation's over. I really don't feel like going back home. Once, I go back home, my mother will keep nagging me around. 'Girls from Pureblood families don't just go off on vacation with their friends. It sends out the wrong impression.' Blah! Blah!"

"I know, what you mean, Pans! My mother will be doing the same thing. Good thing, we at least have our accounts, which our families can't touch. Anyways, first we'll be going to Drake's place first. If Mrs. Malfoy tells us that it is safe for us to go home, we'll go or else we can stay at..." We girls potentially had no home to go back to.

"Maybe in Diagon Alley?" Millie suggested.

"We'll think about it tomorrow. Let's get some sleep tonight." I suggested. The girls agreed. "We'll attack Drake as soon as we are dressed, okay?" The girls agreed to this as well.

* * *

**Draco**

At first, I could hear voices. I could not distinguish the voices. But I had feeling that this may not be a good thing. I opened my eyes slowly. Daph, Millie, Pans and Trace were in my room. They were all saying something at the same time but I couldn't understand a word of what they were saying. "Shut up, all of you!" I ordered.

They all stopped talking at once. "What the hell are you doing in my room? I don't remember telling either of you to come and wake me up in the morning?"

They began talking together again. "I was….I want to….Will you…Ask something…Pari…Why…What…Talk…We…want…know."

"One of you, talk! I can't understand anything you are saying." I was getting angrier by the moment.

"I'll go." Pans volunteered. "We want to know what happened in between you and Pari yesterday."

Pari! That ringed the bells in my head. "Where's Pari?"

The girls looked at me like I was mad. "You told us that she left yesterday and now you're asking where she is!" Daph said.

"But she was here, just a few moments ago. I poked her a lot of times to make sure she was here. She said she came back for me." I said frantically.

Pans sat on the bed and put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Ummm…Draco sweety! She's gone! You said so yourself. You must have had a dream about her."

I looked at her like she spoke in a different language. Then it hit me. Everything was coming back now. Pari. Freedom. Tama Home. Pans hugged me, and then Daph hugged me. Soon it looked like I was some sort of a girl group hug. The four girls were comforting me. Or at least trying to!

I don't know what happened to me in that moment and I told them what happened in between Pari and I. I guess, I never felt so warm before. When they hugged me, I knew for a fact that they were doing it only to comfort me. I knew they had no ulterior motive behind this.

"I can't believe that Pari already had this Tama Home guy and she still played you around." Pans said.

"Ya! She has no right to hurt you this way." Daph said. The girls agreed.

"No, it's not like that. Put yourself in her shoes, you would see her dilemma as well." I defended her. "I know, she has feelings for me as well. This guy has been in her life since she can remember, how can she leave him for me?"

"Whoa Drake! I didn't think you'd defend her. You must really love her, ah?" Trace asked.

"Look, I'm angry that she left but that doesn't mean I don't see reason. She's a great girl. I've never felt like this in my life about a girl. Yes, I want her back. But for now, I'll just have to be happy with the fact that she's free and she'll never have to call anyone 'Master' again."

"Do you think she'll ever come back, Drake?" Millie asked.

"I don't think so, Millie. I wish she does."

* * *

Home! We were finally home. The entire group was to come to my home first and then disperse. We used the Floo Network to get back to Malfoy Manor. Mother was waiting for us in the drawing room.

"Draco dear! How have you been? I see the vacation did you well!" Mother hugged me.

"I've been good! The vacation was fantastic!" I told her. She hugged everyone in a motherly fashion.

"Good, tell me all about it." She said. "Why don't we go to the dining hall and talk, the elves will make you anything you want to eat."

We went to the dining hall. As soon as we sat down, we told Mother all about our vacation only omitting to mention Pari. The others, thankfully, didn't mention her as well. After all, in the end it is my choice if I want to mention her to my mother.

"Oh! I want to see the pictures!" Mother exclaimed.

"Mrs. Malfoy, I have them, I'll show them to you once I'm done unpacking." Daph told her.

"So, Mother. What's been going on here?" Before we left, we made sure that we were kept away from all the news. That's why we gathered at my place before we dispersed so we were well informed.

Just then Folly entered the hall announcing that Mr and Mrs. Zabini had arrived. Mother asked them to be brought in. "Louis, Maria, Hello!"

Mrs. Zabini hugged Mother, "Cissa dear! Hi!"

"Hello, Narcissa!" Mr. Zabini greeted Mother and hugged her.

We all told our 'hellos' to Mr and Mrs. Zabini. Blaise hugged his parents. Blaise asked about his little sister, Francesca. When everybody settled on the table again, I asked how about the state of affairs again.

"Draco, your father has been sentenced to 10 years in Askaban and 5 years of living in muggle society. While living in the muggle society, a counsellor will visit him every week and your father will be monitored. If he doesn't change his point of view then he may have to stay 5 years more."

"What about the others?"

"Lestrange Brothers have been given the Dementor's Kiss. In fact, a lot of active death eaters have been given Dementor's Kiss. The ministry has punished everybody. They are either rotting in Askaban right now or been sent to different locations in the muggle world." Mr. Zabini informed us.

"That's good. We should not take our chances now with the death eaters. We finally have some peace in the wizarding world so let's keep it that way." Blaise said. We all agreed.

"Mrs. Malfoy, Mrs. Zabini, what about the situation in our homes?" Pans asked.

"Dear, your mother is being very stubborn. She is very angry. She will not let you enter the home. If you are to go home anyway, she may never let you leave again. Same goes for you, Daphne dear." Mrs. Zabini told them.

"But we managed to talk sense into your parents, Millicent and Tracey. They understand now. They are a little angry but they don't want to cut you out." Mother told them.

"Pans, I guess, we'll have to find a hotel or something until Hogwarts begins." Daph said.

"Nonsense! I'm not having any of that. The Manor is pretty big. You both will stay here. In fact, I have already got your belongings from your homes." Mother mentioned. Ever since the war ended, I'm beginning to see the kind woman my mother once was. She's coming back to herself. "I've already got your rooms set up."

"Mrs. Malfoy, I don't know what to say." Pans' voice was shaky.

"Pansy, Daphne, you don't have to say anything. I've known you both since you were children and you both are Draco's friends. You can stay here as long as you like." Mother stated as a matter of fact.

Daph and Pans were very touched.

Oh boy! Girls under my roof! This is going to be interesting or maybe not.

* * *

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**Neepa :-)**


	20. Discussion with God

Chapter 20 : Discussion with God

**Amun**

If Zora and I were sleepy before Pari and Tama Home's visit, now we were equally awake. We couldn't get a wink of sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about Pari's freedom. I'm very happy that Pari is finally free, everybody in Genieland knows how much she hates being a genie. At least being free will make it a little less hateful for her.

"Darling, are you asleep?" I asked.

"Do you really have to ask that?" She countered my question.

"What are you thinking about?" I know my wife has a tendency to over think everything.

"Seriously! Do you have to ask me that." Not only did my wife over think but she also has a tendency to be impatient if things do not happen in a certain fashion.

"Honey, I just want to know your train of thoughts. I know what your thinking but I want to know in which direction you're thinking."

She looked a little abashed and she eyes went down to the bed. I put my index finger under her chin and made her raise her face up so she could look at me. "You have nothing to be embarrassed about. We've been together for ages now. I'm used to your little outbursts." I kissed her softly on her lips.

A small smile appeared on her lips. It's moments like these, which make me wonder if Zora and I have been together for thousands of years. "Amun, I just think that this is so unfair."

"In what way unfair?" I'm confused.

"Pari's the first genie to be freed vouluntarily. Correct?" I'm not sure if she asked me or if she was telling me this. Nevertheless, I still nodded my head. "She fulfilled half of the prophecy?" Again, I nodded my head. "Why didn't she fulfil the rest of it? I mean this is like seeing food but not getting to eat it." Genies and their habit of using food as an example! We understand the gravity of the situation depending on how food is used in the context.

"It's like showing a ray of sunshine and then being locked up in a dark room again." My beautiful wife continued.

"I understood what you're trying to tell me, Zora. In a way, I feel that way too. It was just too close. But what are we getting by thinking so much about it?" I asked her.

"I dunno. I just can't stop thinking about it." She confessed.

"Zora, I want you to know that I'm thinking the same thing. But I also know that we won't get any answers until we talk to the Gods. So, why don't get some sleep? We wake up early and then go visit the Gods and get some answers."

"Sounds like a plan." She said it as cheerfully as she can but I knew she would not give it a rest. I sighed and pulled her into my arms, closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep.

* * *

**Zora**

Amun is the best husband in the world, no doubt about it. He can take my attitude and mood changes as they come. He doesn't complain much unless I'm being too obstinate. But what he doesn't understand is that being the Head of Genieland is not and easy thing. He is a Head too. But I'm the first genie of the world. That adds a certain amount of pressure as well. I'm the person genies come to if they have any problems or issues. But genies go to Amun if they need advice and suggestions.

Pari's freedom has at least restored my hope in humanity. There are still people who are willing to do to something for someone else. I didn't pay much attention to Pari's disappearance these past few months. The girl has never stayed away from home so long. Actually, she's never stayed away from Tama Home so long. Something happened when she was gone. The Pari, I know, would have been over the moon with her freedom. But the Pari, I met a few hours ago was different. I can't pin point the difference but there's definitely something different about her.

Freedom for the entire land was so close and nobody knows it. In fact, no one other than Amun and I know about the prophecy. We didn't want to stir any sort of anticipation. Imagine waiting thousands of years for a prophecy to come true! That would make the genies bitter and resentful over time. We didn't want that. Besides, the Gods said they didn't want anybody else to know about it. And obviously, we can't go against Gods' wishes, right?

"Amun was right. I should try to sleep. I won't find any answers in my head. We can deal with all of this tomorrow." I told myself.

"I always am." Amun said and laughed.

"I thought you'd fallen asleep already?" I wondered.

He chuckled. "I was trying but I can hear your brain work and it's pretty loud and disturbing."

"Hahaha. Very funny! Go to sleep now. Love you!"

"Love you too." He kissed me on my forehead. It's times like this I'm glad I've Amun next to me in this long endless life.

* * *

The next morning, we woke up early, got ready before anybody would have woken up. We took the lift up to Heaven. Genieland is just a few floors under Heaven. Amun and I could have vapour travelled to Heaven but The Gods insist on us using the lift. The Gods say it's too much of a surprise if we just appear in front of them (more like invasion of Privacy, I guess). Although, I don't understand how this is too much of a surprise, I mean Gods know everything right? But in the end, I just settled on - everybody has their quirks, even Gods!

As soon as we got out of the lift, two angels in white and gold robes stopped us from going further. I was a little annoyed but I smiled at them and said, "Good Morning you two!" I have always had trouble remembering the angels' names.

"Good Morning, Zora. Good Morning, Amun." They chorused.

"Good Morning, Ezra. Good Morning, Reba." Amun replied.

"What brings you both here?" Ezra asked.

Why else would we be here? Of course to meet the Gods! "We want to discuss some issues with the Gods."

"Ezra, Reba, let them in." A loud voice commanded from the Gods' Hall.

"Well, you heard him. Off you go!" Reba said sweetly.

"Thanks." I told both of them.

Today, it looks like God was not in a mood to appear in his many forms. Instead, he appeared like a very tall, old man. He has sea blue eyes. He has shoulder length, silky, white hair, moustache and beard. He was wearing long white robes like people wore back in the day and sand brown sandals. Honestly, it's in his original form that I like him the best. He looks so peaceful and serene. He smiled at us as we entered the hall.

"Zora and Amun! What a great surprise!" God said. Seriously! This is a surprise for You! I rolled my eyes. He looked at me hopelessly. "Now, now, Zora just because I know everything, it doesn't mean that I shouldn't use these common greetings."

Always better to just go with it. He nodded at me. "We needed to discuss something with you, Sir"

"This is about the prophecy, Sir." Amun said.

"I know." It's okay, when he does it but not when we do it, Great! "That's right, Zora." He smiled playfully at me.

"Sir, Was the prophecy correct? I mean is it really meant to happen?" I asked before I could hold my tongue.

He didn't look offended but amused, "Well, since I made the prophecy, I'm certain it's correct and meant to happen. In fact, if I'm not wrong, it should happen sometime soon."

"How soon, Sir?" I asked.

"Feeling a bit impatient today, are we?" God mocked me.

"Sir, we really need to know. You said it would happen when a genie would be voluntarily freed. Last night, Pari came and told us that she was freed voluntarily." Amun filled God in on the information. God as often told me that he lets his subjects say what they want to say because he found that unless the subject has said what he or she needs to say that don't feel satisfied. Unfortunately, that is true!

"Ah! Young Draco Malfoy freed Pari. He did it last morning." God informed us. "The young man should be rewarded for his good deed."

"Draco Malfoy. Wasn't that kid involved in the recent Wizarding War?" I asked.

"The same one." God said with a smirk.

"And he just accidently happen to stumble upon Pari's bottle?"

"There are no accidences." He was quoting a line from Kung Fu Panda!

"Sir, Is this particularly prophecy about Pari?" I finally asked.

"Zora, you'll just have to wait and watch if it is."

"But no one has been freed this way before so it has to be her, right? Sir?" Amun asked.

"Where's the fun if I tell you everything?" God asked us.

"If the prophecy is about her then shouldn't she have stayed back on Earth with the Malfoy kid?" Amun pondered. I could sense that fatherly possessiveness in his voice.

"Nothing is set on stone my friend! Except a few things." God was adding more mystery!

"You're not going to tell us anything, are you, Sir?" I was losing patience.

"When have I ever given you straight answers? If you knew the answers already things wouldn't fun at all."

"So, I guess, we better take your leave then." I suggested.

"Before you leave, I want you both to know that there will be changes soon. I can't specify how soon. It could be good or bad depending on how you see it. Farewell, my friends!" We told our goodbyes to God and left.

As soon as we left the Hall, I said, "Discussing things with God always add more questions than add more answers. And yet, we do it all the time. It's so frustrating."

"I heard that." God's voice said.

"Good, it was intended for that purpose." I retorted back. I always felt like a little child in front of God. He's like the father I don't even remember anymore.

* * *

We went back to Genieland. We went straight to our home first. Though God never gave any answers, I felt strangely calm after meeting Him. I decided to let it be. Like everything else, I'm just going to go with the flow.

Amun and I went to the huge open-air auditorium, where we mostly make our announcements. We already sent out a short message to 1017 genies and the immortal genie children to assemble at the auditorium by 8 in the morning. By the time we reached the auditorium, we saw a lot of them had already assembled. Tama Home and Pari were in the front row. Tama Home looked happier than Pari. I just could not shake off the feeling that something was off about Pari. When I everybody was seated, Amun and I stood up to make the announcement.

"Good Morning, everybody." Amun greeted. We could hear murmurs of Good morning from the crowd.

"We have some exciting news today." I started. "Another one of us got freed last night." Everybody was excited. Genies started talking amongst themselves.

"Who got freed last night?" It was surprising I even heard that in such noise.

"It's Pari!" Everybody started cheering for her. There were shouts of 'Pari, Pari, Pari' in the crowd.

"Pari come onto the stage!" Amun shouted excitedly.

While Pari was making her way to the stage, I continued. "There's something special about Pari's freedom."

I heard a chorus of "What?" from the crowd. "Pari got her freedom voluntarily from her last master."

There was pin drop silence. Everybody stopped talking or doing whatever they were doing and stared at Pari!

* * *

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	21. I love you

Chapter 21 : I love you

Oh boy! Genies are staring at me! This is not good. This is too much attention. I don't understand if they are happy, jealous or in awe of me. I don't think it would be bad if they were in awe of me – I am the first genie who this happened to after all. Am I supposed to say something? I looked at Zora and Amun for some sort of a sign if I needed to do something. Zora nodded at me and asked me to come forward. I feel very self-conscious when everybody stares at me. In fact, when I've all the attention, I end up becoming a little clumsy. As I kept walking towards Zora, I kept praying that I don't trip and fall.

It's been a few minutes since Zora and Amun made the announcement, but still I don't hear the genies say anything. It's like all of them have been frozen. When I got to the centre of the stage, I said "Hi." I don't know if they could hear my apprehension but I could hear it loud and clear. I waited to see if I would get any response. I took a deep breath and said, "Let the party begin." At the word 'party', everybody seemed to have come out of their trance and there was a loud shout from the crowd. I could not understand what they said but it was somewhere on the lines of 'congrats'.

Soon the chairs that everybody was sitting on disappeared. A huge dance floor appeared. A few of the younger genies were taking care of the music. We did not have food on tables since we would just use magic to get what we wanted to eat. The chairs were magically placed at the corners of the auditorium. Once the music started playing, everybody changed into their party clothes on the spot and started dancing, shouting, howling and sing the words of the songs being played. When I got into the crowd, I was swarmed by everybody to congratulate me. There were some of the older genies who would even tell me that I'm really lucky. Well, I guess, in a way, I'm lucky. I, finally, found Tama Home in the crowd. He was patiently waiting for me to get free from everybody.

_Things had changed a lot since he kissed me last night. When he kissed me, I lost my train of thought. My mind conjured up Draco. When Tama Home kissed me, I was thinking of Draco. By the time, I realised that it was not Draco but Tama Home I was kissing, the kiss had already gotten pretty intense. I wanted to end the kiss that second but I also knew that if I ended the kiss abruptly Tama Home may get hurt. So, I, very tactfully, ended the kiss slowly so he would not suspect anything. Just before I ended the kiss, I peck him on his lips._

_He looked so happy. "Do you have any idea how long I've been wanting to do that?"_

_Honestly, I didn't have an idea. "Hmmm… I don't know."_

_He chuckled. "A very long time. I've wanted to be more than friends with you for so long."_

_"Then why do you want to wait?" Did I seriously just ask that? It's good he wants to wait. I'll get enough time to get over Draco then. But do I really want to be over Draco? I think the sooner Tama Home and I get down to business, the sooner, I'll forget Draco._

_"Wait for what?" He asked. I was not sure if her was genuinely asking me that or he was making fun of me._

_I sighed, "The whole settling down thing?"_

_"I dunno. I thought maybe you'd want to date for a while and you know see how it goes and all." Aww…He knows me so well. He knew that I would have wanted to date for a while before settling down. "Don't get me wrong, if it were just up to me, I would have already asked you to marry me." He winked and smiled naughtily at me._

_"Do you think what we've been doing all these years for each other, you know the whole being there for each other thing, will be considered as dating?" I asked uncertainly._

_"In a way, I guess. That's why I think Zora and Amun wanted to discuss settling down plans with us."_

_I made a face when I was reminded of them asking us about it. "That was embarrassing! I mean, even we didn't discuss it yet and here they are asking us about it. Crazy!"_

_"Well, if you saw it from their points of view, you would not think it was that crazy. Practically, everybody in Genieland thinks we've been dating for God knows how long! I mean everybody is so sure that we will end up together."_

_"What about you? What do you think?" Like, I cared about what Genieland thought! He blushed a little. "OH MY GOD! Tama Home, are you blushing!" I shouted._

_"Shut up, Pari!"_

_"Well?"_

_"Well, what?"_

_"Well, what do you think about us?" I asked the question like I was talking to a little kid._

_He looked down on the floor and started rubbing one of his ear lobes. He usually does it when he is nervous. He took a deep breath and spoke calmly, "I think, we will end up together as well." There was something very cute about a nervous Tama Home. It's the only time he looks vulnerable. It's the only time, I feel like I should take care of him. All the other time, I want Tama Home taking care of me._

_I pulled him into a tight hug and said, "I think so too." There's no way in hell anybody else would love me like he does. I have to let Draco go and move on. The faster it happens, the better it will be for Tama Home and I._

"Hey! Lost in thoughts?" Tama Home's question pulled me out of my thoughts.

"I was just thinking about last night." I informed him.

"Having second thoughts, are we?" He sounded nervous.

"You wish." Though I knew it was a lie, it sounded very true to me like I meant it.

"That's good. 'Cause I need to ask you something?" He said and we started walking towards the stage.

"Why are we going towards the stage? After today, I don't want to get on it ever again. Having everyone stare at me like I was an alien was the most I've been stared at. I don't want that experience again."

* * *

**Tama Home**

I laughed at her theatrics. She has always had a way with words. I wonder how she does it. So, while we were walking towards the stage, she kept complaining about the genies staring at her. If there's anything she doesn't like, it's being stared at. She hates being the centre of the attention. Ever since the moment she came home and told me that she's free, I've been very happy. I got free just a few months back and now she's free as well. We don't have to wait anymore for our lives to begin.

Pari has always been special for me. We became friends almost instantly. She had a very tough time accepting the genie lifestyle. I would listen to her for hours while she kept on cursing the man who turned her into a genie. Before I realised it, she was like family to me. She started to think of me as family as well, I think. She tells me everything. The only thing I was unsure about was her feelings for me. She never said things back but she always told me that eventually she would. When she spoke like I often wondered how can a genie know what will happen in the future but I chose to believe her, anyways.

When we kissed last night, at first, I thought she would pull back. The kiss went on for a while and I sort of got my confidence back. When she said that she thought we would end up together as well, I was sure that maybe she was beginning to feel the same things that I feel for her. That's when I thought that I should do this.

We were standing on the stage and I was watching her continue her rant about being stared at. I kissed her. I could her feel hesitate at first but she relaxed soon enough. We ended the kiss when we heard hoots from the crowd. We smiled at the crowd. "There's a reason I brought you here."

"I'm sure you have one." She said cheekily.

I was amused by what she said. "I want to ask you something." By now, everybody in the crowd was looking at us and wondering what we were up to. The music was turned down. She looked perplexed at first but I could see that she was thinking real hard. "Stop thinking so much, will you?" I asked. I had a feeling she figured it. She nodded.

"Pari, I know, we talked about waiting a while but after talking to you last night, I just could not stop myself." I paused to see if she was going to say something. She just looked at me with complete understanding. I got down on one knee and held her left hand in my right. I looked at her earnestly and started speaking, "Pari, I know we have eternity together, but with you, even eternity seems like a short time. Till now, we've always wondered how our life together will be. We have talked enough about it, now I want to start living it with you, if you let me. I will be the happiest genie in Genieland if you give me this opportunity. Pari, do you want to be Mrs. Pari Tama Home?" I pulled out the ring from my pocket.

* * *

**Pari**

While he was saying those things, I felt my eyes fill up. He's so honest and so pure. While he was saying those things, our life till now flashed before my eyes. When he pulled the ring out of his pocket, I was shocked. It was platinum ring with a huge sapphire in the middle. I understood immediately why he picked sapphire. Blue is my favourite colour. I smiled at him. He just asked me if I wanted to be 'Mrs. Pari Tama Home'. It did have a nice ring to it.

I knew my answer has to be yes. All these years, I knew that whenever he would ask me I would have to say yes. But now, I was doubtful. I should have never met Draco. My mind was wandering to Draco. In fact, my imagination was so strong that Tama Home was flashing in between himself and Draco every few seconds in front of my eyes. I have to push Draco out of my mind. At least, the smile on my face was still plastered on. So, me prolonging my answer would not raise suspicions in anybody's mind.

"Ummm…Pari…It would be nice if you'd answer today." I could sense the fear in his voice.

"Nah, I think, I like to see you kneel in front of me." Dude, you have no idea how messed up my thoughts are right now. I need a few moments so I can straighten my thoughts a bit. Also, you decided to do it in front of everybody, it's a bit disconcerting.

"Right, I should have realised that you would be thinking more about me kneeling down rather than what I said." He sounded a little unsure of himself.

"I paid attention to what you said as well. I'm just waiting for the words to settle in. I didn't think, you'd be asking me this today. Let's just say I'm surprised. Please give me a few moments." I tried to lighten the atmosphere but I think I failed miserably. He nodded in understanding.

"Yes." Finally, I found my voice to say yes. I, literally, had to practise saying yes in my mind a couple of times.

"You mean it?" Did he really ask me that? Pari, I think, you should come clean. Tell him that you're in love with Draco and that you want to be with him. I nodded. I should tell him before all this goes out of hands. Wait! Did I just admit that I love Draco? I love Draco Malfoy. "I love you."

"I love you too." When Tama Home said that, I was pulled out of my thoughts. He assumed that I told him that I love him. He looked so happy that it almost broke my heart. Before I could say anything more, Tama Home put the ring on my finger and pulled me for a kiss. But I love Draco Malfoy.

The crowd went wild and the party resumed again.

* * *

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	22. Dreams and Ambitions

Chapter 22 : Dreams and Ambitions

**Narcissa**

When Draco came back from his vacation, I noticed that his spirits had improved. Not just his but also his friends' spirits seem to improve as well. When I saw them all after the vacation, for the first time in a very long time, they all looked like just any other group of teenagers. For the first time, they looked free. Ever since, Dumbledore's death, it looked like they all had grown ten years older. Now, they look like a group of seventeen and eighteen year olds. They needed this break. Now that, they were back, they may face a few problems but I know that the vacation would have refreshed their minds and they must have found new strength.

Draco looked happy after so long. He did have some sadness in his eyes but I could not place it. When he smiled or laughed, I saw that it didn't reach his eyes. My only consolation is - he is at least on his way to find happiness. No matter how much, I want to bring all the happiness to him, I know, that he has to find it himself. Oh! I wish, I could have protected him from all of this. But parents can't fight all their children's battle now, can they? I'm just happy that, Potter vanquished the Dark Lord. The British wizarding world is a much better place now. I hope, we all make sure that our world is this way, forever.

I felt bad that the Greengrasses, Parkinsons and some of the other old families do not feel the way I felt. But I trust that the younger generation refuses to believe in age-old beliefs. My faith in them further increased when many of the sixth and seventh year students went back to rebuild the Hogwarts Castle after the war. I was proud of Draco when he helped as well. It must have taken him a lot of courage to go back there. I was even happier when Draco was cleared of all charges because Potter, Weasley and Granger gave witness for him rather than against him.

It was nice to have Daphne and Pansy stay with us. Poor girls! I can only imagine what they are feeling like. It broke my heart when Andromeda was cut out from the family for marrying a muggleborn wizard. So, I know what it feels like when families are broken. After the final battle, I reached out to Andromeda to re-build our relationship. She was grieving the loss of her husband and daughter. She is now busy raising her grandson, Teddy Lupin. We visit each other regularly now.

Having Daphne and Pansy at home was like having daughters. I've always wanted a daughter but after we had Draco, Lucius didn't want to have any more children. Daphne and Pansy were showing me the photographs from the vacation. I noticed that there was another girl with the group. I didn't recognise her. "Who's this?"

"She's just a girl we met. She was with us for most of the trip. She left us the day before we came back." Daphne said.

"Is she a witch as well?" I asked. I noticed that most of her pictures were with Draco.

"Something like that." Pansy answered. I didn't understand the meaning of that. But I sensed that they would not talk much about her, so, I didn't push it. I had a feeling that she has something to do with I pain I see in Draco's eyes. I wish there was a way I could do something.

* * *

**Draco**

The week before going back to Hogwarts went in a blur. The first day, we went to Diagon Alley to get our books and other supplies. As soon as we got there, reporters from various newspapers and magazines attacked us. They were clicking so many photos that I thought I had gone blind for a moment. They asked so many questions. It was not just me, all of us were asked so many questions.

"Draco, where were you all these weeks? Were you hiding? Draco, say something!" One reporter asked.

"Are you dating somebody, Draco?"

"Draco, are you gay?"

"Blaise are you seeing anybody?"

"Pansy, are you and Draco still together?" Still together! How did they know that we were together at one point of time?

I was losing my cool with every question that was being asked. We quickly got the things that we wanted and went home. After that, every time we got out of our houses, we were being trailed by least by one reporter. Too much of a nuisance! I wish, I could get away from all this press attention. The rest of the week, we mostly met up at each other's places. Occasionally, we would bump into other students from the school, we would just exchange needed pleasantries and be on our way.

The best thing about coming home was seeing the changes in Mother. She is visibly happier. She mended her relationship with Aunt Andromeda. I even met my nephew, Teddy Lupin. From what I saw, the boy has his mother's metamorphmagus abilities. It's nice to know that Mother has somebody from the family on her side once I leave for Hogwarts. She even re-decorated the entire manor. The manor no longer looked dark and uninviting. Anybody who saw the manor would never believe that 'He' lived here just a few months ago. Every possible trace of dark had been removed. Mother used a lot of light and pleasant colours.

My biggest shock came when I got to know that Mother could cook! This entire week Mother has been feeding me with some really amazing home cooked food. When she told me she cooked the food, I was shocked. "Where'd you learn to cook food?"

"Before I got married to your father, I liked cooking. Not that I was allowed to do it before I was married either. I used to cook without anybody's knowledge. Only Andy (Aunt Andromeda) knew about my passion for cooking. She enjoyed eating whatever I cooked for her. Sometimes, I would cook for the elves. I was always told that nobody from the Black family cooks. It's a job for the elves. Lucius forbade me to do it. But now that, he is not here, I can do what I want to."

"You look happy doing it." She looked ecstatic.

"Yes! Oh Draco! You have no idea how many times I've wanted to cook for you. I wanted to be one of those mothers who cooked and made cookies for her son. Actually, when you were younger, I would secretly cook for you but I didn't tell you that I made it."

It was like seeing Mother in a completely different light. In a way, I felt really special to know that my mother loved more than anybody else. "Well, now you can cook for me whenever you want, then."

She smiled. It was one of those smiles she gave me when I was a kid. Just like I was finding myself in these past few months, I think even she was looking for herself. She seemed to have found herself. I'm still on my way. For a while, I felt like I found myself but with her gone, I feel a little lost again. I'm honestly trying to forget her but I can't, at least not yet.

"Draco, is something wrong?" Mother asked me.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about something." I was happy that Daph and Pans were out with Trace and Millie. They would have given me a pointed stare. While, they seem to understand Pari's situation, they are still not happy about her getting close to me if she didn't have good intensions.

"Is this about the girl you met during your vacation?" I was shocked that my mother even asked me this. Did Daph and Pans let something slip? If they did, how much slipped from their mouths? Mother seemed to have sense my discomfort. "I saw the photos of your vacation and I happen to see the girl in the pictures. I didn't fail to notice that in most of the pictures she was next to you."

If I ask Mother what Daph and Pans told her then she'd get more suspicious. What can I say? "We met her in Turkey. She tagged along for the rest of the trip with us."

"I'm assuming she's a summer fling?" Was I really having this conversation with my mother!

But man, she's more than a summer fling. I don't know if I'll ever feel this way again. "She was a good friend. She was not judgemental. That's why we built a good rapport."

"Was?" Mother was pushing it. "Are you not going to keep in touch with her?"

"Let's just say, it's complicated. I can't explain it."

"Okay. For a moment, I thought you'd tell me that you love her. I thought, you were going to tell me that you will give me a grandchild soon." She thought all of this because she saw a couple of photos of Pari and I. Thank God, she didn't see anything we did, I wonder what she would have assumed then!

"Grandchild? I just turned 18. I hardly think that's the age to become a father unless of course it happens accidentally." I joked.

Looks like my joke didn't have the desired effect. "Well, your father and I were married as soon as I was out of Hogwarts."

"Mother, in your generation, I would be surprised if someone told me that they didn't marry right out of Hogwarts. Besides, I think it would be too soon for me to be married right out of Hogwarts. Mother, I've to rebuild the Malfoy name." I told her earnestly.

My last statement surprised her. "Draco, nobody expects you to do that. You need to do what you want to do. All your life, you've been told what to do. This is your chance to start over new. You don't have to walk with the weight of the Malfoy name on your shoulders."

"I want to do it. I want to restore the Malfoy name to its former glory. But this time, I want the Malfoy name to be respected for the right reasons not because we have had associations with the dark side. I've still not figured out what I want to do once I'm out of Hogwarts. I hope, I do before, I graduate from Hogwarts."

"I hope you do. If this makes you happy then I'm going to support you, Draco. I love you." Mother assured me.

"I know. I love you too, Mother." I kissed her on her cheek. "Mother, I think you should open a restaurant or café or something like that. We might as well benefit from your cooking dream."

She swatted my hand, "Don't mock me, Draco."

"I'm serious, Mother. When I leave for Hogwarts what are you going to do? If you open a café, you will have something to look forward too. You can make your dream your ambition."

"Draco, you very well know that most pureblood witches do not work, let alone start a business for themselves."

"Mother everything is changing. Beliefs are changing everywhere. Mother, I'm not going to push you but I want you to think about it. Thoroughly. This could be a chance for both of us turn over a new leaf."

It looked like she was at least considering it. "You can talk to Aunt Andy and work with her. Even she'll need the distraction. Just tell me that you are willing to think about it, Mother." I pleaded. The more I tried to convince her to do it, the more I believed that she can do it.

"Draco, it's all easy said then done. We have all the money in the world, starting one would not be a problem and you know that. It's the running it part and everything else that comes with it. What if it didn't work out?" She sounded sceptical but at least she was thinking about it.

"Then at least, you'll know, you tried. And that's what matters the most. You know, I will be with you every step of the way. There's no harm in trying, is there?" A few years ago, I wouldn't have been able to tell my mother to follow her dream. Things were actually changing all around us, so why does Mother need to be stuck in the past?

* * *

**Please read and review, follow or favourite the story! Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**

**Neepa :-)**


	23. Platform Nine three Quarters

Chapter 23 : Platform Nine three Quarters

First of September 1998. The last time, I'll be going to Hogwarts. This is also the year, I'll be taking the N.E. . Merlin, I hope, I can beat Granger at least this year. I know, that's going to be tough but a guy can wish! If I have to spend every night in the library studying for the rest of the year, I will do it. I'm going to try my best to beat the 'brightest witch of our year'. It's going to be a hell of a challenge!

I packed my belongings last night so I didn't have to do any packing. I got ready and went down for breakfast. Daphne and Pansy were already there with Mother in the kitchen. There was a sort of excitement in the air.

"Can't believe we are going back already." Daph spoke so happily.

"I know. I'm a little scared to be there after the war. What if being there brings back old memories?" Pansy said.

"Are you kidding me? I'm damn happy to be going back. No offense to you Mrs. Malfoy." Daph mentioned immediately.

"None taken dear." Mother told her and smiled at her.

"It's just that. I'm excited that we'll finally have one normal year at school. From the first year, there's always something going on in the school. There's no threat looming anywhere." Daph explained.

"Please Daph, spare us! I know the only reason you're saying all this is because of Harry Potter. You're happy that Harry is going to have a normal year." Pansy teased.

"Oh Daph! I thought, it was just a small crush. I didn't know you fancied Potter so much." I teased Daph further. She was blushing now.

"You guys! I don't have a crush on Harry Potter anymore." Daph tried to sound serious.

"Draco, Pansy don't embarrass her anymore. It's ok, dear. Don't worry about them." Mother tried reining us in.

"Fine." Pansy and I said together.

After, breakfast we apparated to King's Cross Station. We were going to meet the others here. Blaise and his family were already waiting for us when we reached the station. We greeted each other and started talking about various topics while the other made an appearance. After some time, the others were arrived as well. Daph's mother was here as well. She was here to drop Astoria. She didn't bother to talk to Daph even once. Even Pans' parents didn't make an attempt to talk to her. Daph decided to make an attempt at reconciliation.

* * *

**Daphne**

"Mother, hello! How are you?" I attempted to hug her but she stopped me.

"You are no daughter of mine." My mother said in a cold voice.

"I didn't do anything wrong. I needed to get away from here for a while." I tried to make her understand from my point of view.

"You left even though, I forbade you to. You're socialising with blood traitors now."

I snorted. "Until the war was over, Mrs. Malfoy, Mrs. Zabini and the others were your good friends. Now, you call them blood traitors."

"Your father told me that Narcissa betrayed the Dark Lord. If she had not betrayed Him then He would have won the war and your father would not be in Askaban. Do you even realise the pain he is in now? Do you realise what this is doing to him?"

I really could not believe that my mother was so blind. I could not believe that she actually spoke those words. "Mother, do you hear yourself? I can't believe you said that. Father killed people. He deserves to be in Askaban. He killed people. He killed people because of their blood status. He killed people just because they were muggles. Mother, do you realise that there are only so many pureblood families? They will be extinct anyways if we keep marrying within ourselves, eventually, we all will become first cousins. Muggleborns are necessary to keep magic alive."

"How dare you speak this way to me! Leave now. Leave before I curse you with my wand. And stay away from Astoria. Don't corrupt her with your thoughts."

"I can talk to my sister if I want to. I don't have to put thoughts in her head. She's old enough to think for herself. She doesn't have to believe anything just because you tell her." I was angry but I kept my voice in check. I dint want to shout. Platform nine three quarters was filling up quickly. "Goodbye Mother." I saw Astoria not meeting my eyes. She will find her way. And when she needs me, I'm going to be there for her.

I walked away from them and started walking back to my friends who've become almost like family in the last few months. But I was still angry about the things my mother said. Is she really that ignorant? This only goes on to show that a lot of people must be as ignorant as my mother. This has to change.

"Ouch!" I bumped into someone. I felt that person hold me so I don't fall. I looked up and I saw green eyes. Green just like Harry's. Oh boy!

"I'm sorry." He said. At the sound of his voice, my heart started beating faster.

"No, it was my fault. I was not looking where I was going. I was thinking about the fight my mother and I just had." Oh no! Why did I tell him that? I stopped and looked at him. "I'm sorry."

"I didn't think Slytherins were capable of apologising." He sounded serious though he smiled when he said it. I think, he only said that because I mentioned the argument with my mother and he didn't want to pry.

"Hey, that's just mean! It's not like you know us personally." I swatted him on his hand. Oh my God! Swatting Blaise, Draco, Ad, Theo or Greg's a completely different thing. I grew up with them. I can't believe I did that.

Even if he found it weird, he didn't say anything. "I should go now. See you around." He started to walk away.

"Yes. See you around." Oh! The first time, I've an actual conversation with the guy I've liked since first year and this is how it ends. I put my head in my hands. But, I had a conversation with him. That's got to be good right. A smile broke on my face. I felt someone tap on my shoulder. I turned around and found Pansy. I couldn't stop smiling.

"I spoke to him." If it were possible, I think, my smile got bigger.

"Hmmm, ya! I saw that! You're drooling." She pointed the corner of my mouth. I was shocked and began to wipe it off. What if Harry saw that! At my expression, Pansy started laughing. I knew then she was joking. I growled at her.

* * *

**Blaise**

I was talking to the guys, when I saw her come through the barrier. She looked as beautiful as ever. Her brown eyes held so much warmth in them. It was just hard not to miss it. Her smile could light up the dark. I so badly wanted to tell her for so long. But I was scared about what my Slytherin mates would think. At that time all that mattered. Not that it mattered to my family if I was with a Ravenclaw, Gryffindor or even Hufflepuff. But I'm a Slytherin and pre-war all that mattered. Post- war, everything had changed. I saw most of the sixth and seventh year students socialising with students from other houses. McGonagall was a sure genius when she implored students to help with the restoration. It gave us all a sense of belonging.

"Blaise, just do it! She's not going to bite. Heck, she'll use the 'Bat Bogey Hex' on me if I piss her off too much." I told myself. I took a deep breath and starting walking towards her.

I dashed into someone, "Oops!" I heard a girl's voice. Before she could lose her balance I wrapped my arms around her waist. That's when I noticed that the girl in my arms was none other than Loony Lovegood.

"You should watch where you're going, Lovegood." I smirked at her. I knew, it was my fault but I didn't want to admit it.

"You should watch where you're going." She said in a soft yet dreamy voice. Boy, she has such beautiful lips! I wonder what they would feel like if I kiss her.

"Well, is it okay if we both agreed that we should both watch where we're going?" I looked up to see her eyes because her lips were too distracting. She has the most clear blue eyes I've ever seen. They are so beautiful. I never seen her this close before. She is very beautiful.

She was measuring my words, "The Nargles seem to agree with you. But I don't, at least not right now. You were pre-occupied and you bumped into me."

Nargles! There she did it again! The spell was broken now. She didn't sound like she was accusing me of anything, just stating a fact. "Fine, I'm sorry. I bumped into you, Loony. Sorry, Luna!"

No emotion crossed her face when I called her 'Loony'. It was like she was used to it or she didn't really care. This is the first time ever I felt guilty for calling her that. I'm never going to call her that. Suddenly, I felt this urge to keep her safe. She, obviously, didn't need saving but I felt protective towards her.

"It's okay! I should get going now. I've to go meet Ginny." She said like nothing happened. She tried to move. She looked at me and said, "Umm, Blaise, you can let go off me now."

"What?" Then I realised that my hands were still wrapped around her small waist. "Right." I let go off her. Immediately, I wish she didn't have to go. Wait what? NO, I like Ginerva Weasley not Luna Lovegood! That reminds me, I wanted to talk to her. Damn you, Lovegood for messing with my head.

I went back to where the guys were standing. "So, what was going on in between you and Loony Lovegood?" Theo asked as soon as I was within earshot.

"Don't call her that! Her name's Luna." My voice sounded menacing to my own ears. Did I just do that? I walked away. I needed to think about what just happened. Did I just tell my friend to not call her Loony? We've been doing it since we heard about her.

"What's gotten into him? I thought, he was into Ginny Weasley." I heard Theo ask.

"I dunno what's going on!" I heard Draco say.

* * *

**Theodore**

Not many people know this but I've liked Ginny Weasley since the first time I saw her in Diagon Alley. It was just before my first year. I was at Diagon Alley with my mother to shop for my school things and she was with her mother and her band of brothers. She watched as her brothers bought the things they needed for school.

"When will I go to Hogwarts, Mom?" She asked her mother very eagerly.

"Next year, dear! If it were up to me you'd probably never leave home." Her mother told her. She gave her mother a look. "It's only because you're my last one." She stuck her tongue out at her mother and Mrs. Weasley laughed. If I had done that to my mother then she would have given me a nice scolding.

My mother noticed me looking at her and said, "Theo, honey! They are the Weasleys. You should not get mixed up with them. They are blood traitors." I didn't even know what exactly that meant at that time but I nodded.

Then in school, Blaise started liking her. I didn't want to fight over a girl with my childhood friend so I let it be. It's not like we could do anything about it. I never mentioned that I like her. But all these years, I watched her silently. I watched when she complained to Granger that Potter doesn't notice her. I watched her cry for Potter when he didn't return to school last year.

I've always been so fascinated by her. To the world she's this strong girl who can fight anything and throw a killer 'Bat Bogey Hex' but there's also this fragile side to her, which is hidden. Now that all the war is over, I'm sure Blaise will try to gain her affection. I'm sort of conflicted here. Should I go after the girl that I've liked since I was kid or should I let Blaise have her?

The last year, we formed an unusual friendship. There were hardly any students in the school. We happened to bump into each other and got talking. While talking to her, it was the first time that I started questioning the Dark Lord's war. It, honestly, made no sense to me. He was just another half-blood who manipulated people and somehow yet pureblood families were treating him like he was God. But yet, it was wartime, so, we decided to keep our friendship under wraps.

I was still lost in my thoughts when I heard someone say, "Hi Theo."

I saw Ginny standing in front of me, smiling. I smiled back at her. "Hi Ginny. How were your holidays?"

"Good to a large extent. It would have been better if the press was not following me around all the time. That was annoying. I even hexed some of them."

I was shocked. "And there were no consequences?"

She turned as red as her hair, "Yes. I was asked to pay a fine and given a warning. But I'm not the only one who hexed them. Trust me, I think almost everybody hexed them at least once."

"I wonder if I'll my chance to hex them as well."

She laughed. I like the sound of her laugh. "So, how were your holidays? How was the trip that you took with your friends?"

"It was really good. I feel very refreshed. We went all over Europe. It was the best trip ever."

"That's nice! I wish, I could do that someday. Well, I should go now. I'll see around in school?"

I'll take you if you want me to. "Of course! Now, we won't have to sneak around and be friends." I said happily.

"Yes, that's true." She walked away.

"What was that?" I heard Draco ask from behind me.

"What was what?" I tried to change the subject.

"You and Weaslette are friends."

"Yes." I said sheepishly. "During the war, we just happen to become friends and just talk." I explained.

"Don't tell me, you too! You like her, don't you?"

I wish, I could have said no. I just could not hold it in anymore. "Yes."

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Draco was perplexed.

"Because even Blaise likes her. Pre-war, it was not like I could do anything about it, could I? During the war, we became friends. Post-war, I'm still not sure if I was to act on my feelings. I'm still a little confused about it." I'm not confused about my feelings. I'm just confused about acting upon my feelings.

"Okay." Draco seemed to understand.

* * *

**Draco**

I looked around me. I saw Ad and Trace together, they were happy. I saw Greg and Millie, I never even thought that Greg would find happiness. Daph was talking to Potter. Blaise was talking Lovegood. Theo was talking to Weaslette. I hope even Pansy surprises me soon and starts talking to someone that surprises me. The war had truly changed a lot. But this change is good. Change where we all are accepting of others despite our differences in the past. I even identified some of the younger Slytherins being open about their relationship with their parents. Parents were trying everything in their power to accept it.

Through the crowd, I finally spotted her. Hermione Granger. She looked beautiful effortlessly. Her hair looked tamer than it ever did in the previous years. Her brown eyes still held the same spark every time we were at Platform nine three quarters. She was always beautiful in my eyes though I voiced a completely different opinion.

Yes, she's beautiful but she's not Pari. She's damn smart but…but she's not as smart as Pari. Pari is funny. She is the love of my life. I know, Blaise was right when he said that I should move on. I don't find any other girl here remotely as interesting as Granger. Do I want Granger to be my rebound? No way! She's way to good for that.

As if she heard me thinking about her she turned and looked at me. She smiled and waved at me. Weasley looked as well but he just nodded in my direction and I did the same. She told Weasley something and walked toward me. Why is she coming towards me?

"Hey." She said when she reached earshot distance.

"Hey. How are you?" I didn't know what more to ask.

"I'm good. How are you?" She enquired.

"I'm good too. So, I heard about your parents. You must be really happy to have them back."

"Yes but I didn't know that you knew about it."

"Granger, during the war 'He' tried to look for your parents, but when the death eaters couldn't find them, I figured, you must have done something. Then someone accidentally let it slip while the restoration was going on. Then somehow, the press got to know about it."

"Yes, that was something I had hoped would not happen."

"How were your holidays?"

"Good actually. Spent them in Australia with my parents. They are in love with Australia. They decided to settle down there."

"Nice. Does that mean you'll be moving to Australia once we graduate?" Why was I interested in knowing that?

"I didn't think about it. I will give it a serious thought now. How were your holidays? What did you do?" She seemed genuinely interested.

"My friends and I went around Europe." During the trip, I also met this three thousand or more year old genie named Pari and I fell in love with her. She sort of ripped my heart open and left. Actually, I asked her to leave.

"Must have been fun. I've always wanted to do that."

It was damn fun until I met Tama Home. "The best trip I've ever had. It was just amazing. We even tried out some of those muggle adventure sports, it was fun!"

"Wow! Draco Malfoy and his friends trying out muggle sports, that's something I never thought I'd hear." She said with a spark in her eyes.

"Well, neither did we think we'd do something like that. When we were there, we felt like we should give it a shot. We just wanted to try new things." Also Pari was very insistent. Stop roaming around in my head, woman!

We stood in front of each other with nothing more to say. This is awkward. Is there anything else I could ask her?

"Draco." I heard Mother's voice.

"That's my mother. I need to go. It was nice catching up. We'll talk in school."

"Sure, I should get back to my friends as well. See you around." We smiled awkwardly and walked away from each other.

* * *

**Please read and review! Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**

**Neepa :-)**


	24. The Feast

Chapter 24 : The Feast

When I first saw the Hogwarts castle from the Hogsmeade station, my memories starting going back to the night on the Astronomy Tower. I will never forget the way Dumbledore said, "Please Severus." After the war, Severus' name was cleared. Potter told the entire wizarding world that if it weren't for Severus, he probably would have died and also that he was always on the Light side. It was under Dumbledore's orders that Severus killed him. Dumbledore wanted to die on his own terms, he knew he was going to die anyways. He didn't want me to carry the weight of a murder on my shoulders for the rest of my life.

Before, I got to know the truth, I spent days thinking that Severus was the bad guy. Sure, he killed Dumbledore so he could protect me from 'his' wrath. But I could not stop myself from thinking that he was indeed one of the death eaters. He was always so kind to me that I never thought of him as a death eater. Though, Severus told 'him' that he was a spy for 'him' on the light side, I kept suspecting that he had switched sides. When I saw him murder Dumbledore, I was sure that he had not switched sides. I thought, he was probably 'his' most loyal supporter.

Now that I know the truth, I've never been more proud to call Severus my godfather. In a way, I feel like I owe both Dumbledore and Severus my life. Without me even knowing it, they saved my life. And now, I want to make it worthwhile. As we were getting out of the station I heard a familiar voice saying, "First years follow me! First years follow me!" Some things will never change at Hogwarts.

There was a huge crowd at the exit. It seemed like everybody slowed down. I could hear murmurs. "I thought the carriages moved magically." "I didn't know, it was carried by these creatures." "My god, they look so scary." "When Gretchen told me that the carriages were driven by some scary looking creatures, I didn't believe her." I knew, they were talking about the thestrals. I've never seen them before. Everybody was moving so slowly that I was getting impatient. My friends and I tried to make our way to the front through the crowd. It was getting really cold and also I was hungry.

We got to the front. I saw that Lovegood was petting what I assumed was a thestral. It was black all over. It looked like a bony horse with wings. Despite looking bony, the animal looked very strong, in a way it had a very regal presence. It was hard not to feel a little scared when you saw them. I mean, if someone told you that you could see a thestral only if you saw death, don't you think the creature will be feared? I could see Blaise was trying his best not to gawk at Lovegood. The Golden Trio and the other war heroes made their way to the carriages and got on to them and left for the school. Then, the others slowly made their way to the carriages. Ad, Trace, Millie and Greg took one carriage and the rest of us took another.

The school looked like it always does. Magnificent! Even though it was restored just a few months ago, it still looked the same. It was still inviting. It gave me the same feeling I got the first time I came here. I was happy to be back here. Yes, the memories of the war were also coming back. I tried to think less about them. The school has given me a lot of good memories as well. I want to concentrate on them. Though I've known Ad, Blaise, Daph, Greg, Millie, Pans, Theo and Trace all my life, it was here that we became close friends. It was here that we got to know each other better. I played my first Quidditch game here. I'm not going to let the bad memories mar the good memories. I smiled at my friends and said, "Here we are, finally!"

"Oh yes, we are!" Blaise said.

"Did anyone think that we'll be welcomed back here after the war?" Pans asked. She was doubtful about coming back for a long time. She came because we forced her to come.

"I think, if McGonagall would not have called us all to help with the restoration and then if she would not have paired us up with the students of the other houses then I would not have thought it was possible." Theo said thoughtfully.

"I bet it was Dumbledore's idea." Daph added.

"It does sound like him." I said. "He was all for house unity."

"When we all helped with the restoration, we got to know what others went through during the war and they got to know what we went through as well. I think, most them understand that we were bought up that way. They also know that we're trying our best to change and understand other people." Trace said.

"You got that right, baby!" Ad kissed Trace as we enter the Great Hall.

I saw the four large house tables. Slytherin table on the far left, then Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryfiindor tables. The House flags were hanging mid-air right above the house tables. The ceiling was as usual enchanted to look like the night sky. Blaise, Daph, Theo, Pans and I sat on the side of the table overlooking the other tables. Ad, Trace, Millie and Greg sat facing us. Our seating arrangement made sense since they didn't want to look at anyone other than each other. And we were looking at almost everybody. Everybody was talking excitedly with people they sitting next to.

Professor Sprout walked in with the first years. "Wow, that's a lot of first years!" Blaise said.

"It makes sense since a lot of the first years didn't join the school last year. So, I think, the ones who didn't join last year must have joined along with the ones who are joining this year." Daph stated in an 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone.

"Yes, last year, only ten or fifteen students joined school." Theo added.

The Sorting Hat was placed on a stool in front of everyone. The Hat started singing a song.

"The War has finally ended.

While it may have looked like the war began only years ago,

It has been going on for years.

This war took place because we didn't learn to co-exist.

While the older witches and wizards were blinded by prejudices,

The consequences of it have been borne by you students.

Now, it is up to you younger witches and wizards,

To look past the differences and prejudices,

And learn to co-exist.

It is up to you to build a new wizarding world filled with Harmony, Love and Unity.

It is up to you to build a world with understanding and co-operation.

It is up to you to take our world and magic into the future.

Finally the war has ended!"

After the song, Professor Sprout pulled out a scroll of parchment from her robe pocket and started calling out the names of the first years. I didn't pay attention to the sorting but when a student was sorted into Slytherin, I cheered just like everybody else. After the last student was sorted into Hufflepuff, Headmistress McGonagall stood up and immediately everybody was quiet. It's amazing how she can command respect without even saying a word.

"Welcome to the first years and welcome back to the older students. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the students who helped with the restoration of the Hogwarts Castle. You have done a great service to your school by doing that. I'm very glad to see that all of you returned to school this year, especially the students who didn't attend school last year. Everybody will be repeating the year because everybody knows that last year the teaching at school was anything but par. There are a lot of announcements to be made but let's enjoy the feast first. Let the feast begin!" The tables filled up with food as soon as McGonagall said that.

"If there's anything I miss about Hogwarts, it's the food!" Greg sounded content. We laughed.

"That's true, I agree." Pans supported Greg.

"Wow I still can't believe we're back at Hogwarts." Millie said.

"Wait until classes start tomorrow, I'm sure, you won't be this happy." I pointed out to Millie and the others. Daph swatted me on the head, "Ouch! What was that for?" I exclaimed.

"For reminding us about the classes. Can't you just let us enjoy tonight's feast!" Daph said. I stuck my tongue out at her. "Very mature, Drake!"

"Gosh, I wonder what more announcements does McGonagall want to make." Trace stated.

"I've a feeling it might be about the Head Boy and Head Girl. A couple of people told me that nobody from their houses received any intimation regarding The Head Boy and Head Girl." Blaise said.

"Plus, we are opening after a war, I'm sure the professors would have come up with some ideas for House Unity." I pointed out.

"There's bound to be new professors appointment as well." Daph said.

The rest of the feast, we kept talking about the various things that McGonagall could announce. After the feast, McGonagall stood up again and the entire student body was silent once again.

"I would like to start of by talking about Severus Snape. As most of you must have heard already he was a spy for the light side for many years. He was a very brave man. Whatever, he did, he did it under Professor Dumbledore's orders. I want you all to honour his memory by observing a minute of silence."

I am glad she mentioned Severus. We observed a minute of silence. In that minute, I remembered all the kindness he showed towards me. He was always there for me like a father figure. I vowed to make him proud.

"Now, I want to welcome Mr. Jordan Abrams who will be teaching Defence against the Dark Arts. He is an ex-auror." He was a tall and well-built man with greying hair. He stood up and waved as we clapped our hands for him. "I want to welcome Ms. Rose Wells who will be teaching Muggle Studies." She was a beautiful woman with blonde hair and beautiful smile on her face. She stood up and waved, I heard of the guys hoot for her. McGonagall didn't like that sort of behaviour. "Lastly, I want to welcome Mr. Perseus Gale who will be teaching Transfiguration." He was lanky young man with raven hair. He stood up awkwardly and waved. We sure have real interesting new teachers.

"Before, I forget Mr. Filch wants me to remind you that roaming out of corridors after hours is still not allowed. Products from Zonko's Joke Shop and Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes are still banned. Mr. Filch has put up the detailed list of products in the common rooms. The Forbidden Forest is still forbidden for all students."

McGonagall continued, "The school and the ministry together have decided that from this year Muggle Studies will be mandatory for all years." There were murmurs in the hall. "Silence. I'm not done talking yet. However, the students who will be appearing for their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s this year, will not have to take the exam but their assignment grades will be considered for the final grade in the subject. The reason we have made Muggle Studies mandatory is so students have a better understanding of the muggle world and we don't want to risk any prejudices that may lead to another war. We have already lost a lot of people, we don't need to lose more. Muggle Studies will give you a better understanding of how the Muggles have managed with magic."

I hate to admit it but it sounds like a brilliant idea. It would do us good to have basic knowledge about Muggles. In fact after the vacation I think, I'm more open to these kinds of ideas.

"Like the Sorting Hat, I can't begin to explain the importance of House Unity. There will be a lot of inter-house pairings during classes for assignments and projects. We may even have some informal and formal events to promote house unity. All these will be announced to you once I have discussed this with the Head Boy, Head Girl, Deputy Head Boy and Deputy head Girl." There were murmurs in the hall again. But this time McGonagall waited for us to settle down.

"Deputy Head Boy and Deputy Head Girl, what are they? We've never had them before." Ad said.

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Ad." Blaise said.

Everybody began to settle down. "Thank you. Now, if you'll let me finish this quickly then you all can go to bed soon. I want to announce the Heads and the deputy heads. The Head Girl is Ms. Hermione Granger." Everyone was clapping and cheering for Granger. She looked so embarrassed by the sudden attention. She deserves it. When settled down a little, McGonagall continued "The Head Boy is Mr. Draco Malfoy." There was silence. I was confused. I stared at McGonagall to see if she was kidding. She was serious, alright! Then slowly people started clapping and cheering for me as well. I felt people pat me on my back and my friends congratulating me.

"The Deputy Heads is a position we are starting from this year. The Deputy heads will be chosen from the sixth years. The deputy heads will assist the heads in their duties. They are most likely to be the heads next year unless something prevents them form taking this responsibility. The Deputy Head Girl is Ms. Luna Lovegood." Everyone was shocked. The Ravenclaws were the first to recover and started congratulating her. The expression on her face didn't change at all. Did she even hear what McGonagall said? She had the same serene expression on her face with a small smile. "The Deputy Head Boy is Zacharias Smith." The whole Hufflepuff table roared and cheered for Smith. Smith was smug.

Wow, I have to work with Granger, Lovegood and Smith the entire year. This is going to be a fun year. Merlin help me!

"I request the heads and the deputy heads to stay back for a bit after everybody is gone. That's it for tonight. House Prefects please guide the first years and the other students to the common rooms." McGonagall dismissed us. Everybody started moving out at the same time. The others wished me good luck and left. I wonder, what she will tell us now.

When the students were gone, it was just the professors and us. I was nervous for some reason. The professors stood in front of us. First they congratulated us. Then McGonagall went back to her business tone. "The reason I wanted the four of you to stay back is because I wanted to discuss some of the plans for this year. The professors and I discussed some of the things that could be done this year. We thought of three parties that can be held this year – A Halloween party, A Yule Ball and maybe a Valentine's Ball. We realise that parties are a great way for people to interact with each other."

She wants three parties in one year, great!

"That sounds great, Professor!" Granger said excitedly. The three of us agreed as well.

"The reason we appointed the deputy heads is because we know, it's your N.E.W.T year, so you could share some of the load with Ms. Lovegod and Mr. Smith. We also know that this year will act as a very important ingredient for house unity. So, we need to do as many things as possible for encourage it." McGonagall explained.

"I agree with you, professor." I said.

"Excellent. I will let you discuss the details and bring it to me for final approval. Also, I would like you'll to finalise the prefect patrol duties. I hope you can give it to me by this weekend for approval and then you can give it to the prefects." We nodded. She informed us who were the prefects in our places. She dismissed Lovegood and Smith for the night.

"Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy, please follow me so I can take you to the Heads' dorms."

Heads' Dorms! Was there such a thing before? I have to share a dorm with Granger. Oh Merlin! Even Granger looked a little nervous by this prospect.

"We have a separate Heads' dorm from this year so everybody knows house unity is taken seriously. If it were up to me, I'd probably do away with the houses but the houses are a way for us to honour the school founders so we can't do away with the houses." McGonagall explained when we didn't say anything.

I've heard the term 'house unity' so many times this evening that if I hear it once more, I may actually hex someone or something.

"The password is 'House Unity'" McGonagall informed us.

How apt!

* * *

**Please read and review! Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**

**Neepa :-)**


	25. Apologies and Attractions

Chapter 25 : Apologies and Attractions

The heads' dorm was behind a painting of the founders of the school. The whole unity thing was going over board now. I get the point that it is necessary but if it's thrown on your face all the time, will we take it seriously? The dorms were on the east wing of the sixth floor. I will have to find a short cut to the Slytherin dorms. As soon as we entered the Heads' Dorms, I realised that I'm going to like this dorm a lot. We were in what looked like a common room. The right side wall was filled with bookshelves, in the centre of the wall, there was a huge fireplace where there was already a fire lit.

On the left side wall, were three doors. The first door had a 'Hermoine Granger' nameplate on it. The middle door didn't have any nameplate on it. On the third door, I could faintly make out my name on the nameplate from where I was standing.

"The first room and the last room are your rooms and the middle one, of course, is the bathroom. The bathroom can be entered from your rooms as well." McGonagall mentioned. Sharing a bathroom with Granger, this just keeps getting more and more interesting! Is it wrong for me to wish it were Pari instead? Gosh, I miss her! I wish it gets better with time.

There were a lot of sofas and armchairs around a huge coffee table. "You will have the prefect meetings here." McGonagall seemed to have read my mind. "Before I leave you, I want to remind you that I want the patrol duties by this weekend. You will also schedule the Quidditch matches. You need to speak to all the captains and ask them to hold the selections soon. It would be nice if the matches would start by the first or second week of October. You don't have hurry on that schedule. Good Night." She turned to leave us.

"Good Night." We said in unison.

As soon as she left, I turned to Granger and said, "I didn't know being the head boy would mean doing so much work."

For a moment she looked like she didn't know what to say, "Well, I always assumed there would be a lot of work."

What do I say now? "Hmmm…I didn't even think, I would be made the head boy. I thought Goldstein would be made head boy."

"I had a feeling that you maybe the head boy because, well, after me, you're the only brightest person in our year." Indirectly she said I'm second in the class.

"I know that, but given my history, I assumed, I will not be made head boy. I dreamt of being head boy since the day I joined Hogwarts. Those days, I only thought about how I can give people detention or take away their points just because I felt like it." I remembered.

"So, you only thought about abusing your authority? But you already did that when you were in the Inquisitorial Squad back in the fifth year." She pointed out.

"Granger, it was back then. I didn't even want to join that stupid squad. My father made me join it. Besides, now, I don't intend to 'abuse my authority' like you put it. Things have changed. I'm trying my best to change. This year is my shot at a second chance so, I can't blow it up."

"That's true. You've changed a lot. I noticed during the restoration." She admitted.

"So, you noticed me, ah?" She blushed a little. Am I flirting with her? I need to stop it now. I'm not yet over Pari.

"It's not like what you mean, Malfoy?" She tried to save herself from embarrassment.

"Hey, it's really not your fault if you noticed me. I am after all noticeable." I smirked at her. What am I doing? I need to go to my room now.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Malfoy." She retorted.

I raised my hands saying that I give up. "I'm tired, I'm going off to sleep. It was nice talking to you." Why did I say it was nice talking to her?

"Yeah! Sure. Good Night, see you tomorrow." She said.

"Ya. Good Night." I went into my room.

There was a huge bed in my room with green sheets on them. The room was decorated in Slytherin theme. There was a work desk near the window. There was a cupboard with my stuff already in it. There was a full-length mirror as well. I went to check the bathroom. The bathroom was white with all the necessities. The only thing it missed was a bathtub.

I changed into my nightclothes, brushed my teeth and went to sleep.

* * *

**Hermione**

He said it was nice talking to me. Did he mean it? Or was it one of those things that people say for courtesy sakes? It was weird he said that. He actually flirted me. I can't believe it. I didn't want to seem too eager. So, I tried my best to stop it. I don't understand why do all of our conversations have to end so awkwardly? We start off well but then it's just a standstill after a few minutes.

Ron and I really tried to make it work over the summer. Like really made efforts to make our relationship work. After a few days we realised that if we really love each other, we don't have to work so hard to make it work. Love shouldn't have to be work, right? In a way, it was hard to make it work because I was in Australia and he was here. At first we wrote to each other pretty often. After a while, we just grew apart. And we realised, we are better off as friends.

I've always had a crush on Ron and Draco Malfoy. Both are so different, yet I liked them. I found both of them attractive until they opened their mouths to speak. Ron and I used to fight a lot despite being friends. I can't deny the fact that being friends he said some really hurtful things to me in the past. And Malfoy, he's always mean been to me. He never spoke a kind word to me until the war was over. I still remember his exact words.

_I was helping Madam Pomfrey with some of the injured people when I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I turned around to find Malfoy standing there._

_"Hi, Granger." He sounded very hesitant._

_"Hi."_

_"I'm sure, I'm probably the last person, you want to speak to right now. But please hear me out." I could tell he was still formulating his words as he spoke._

_"Nothing like that. Go on." I wanted to put him out of his misery._

_"I'm really sorry for what happened at the Manor. I can't believe it was my own aunt who did that to you. You should know, that by doing it my aunt just proved that she is inferior to you, I mean was inferior. You are very brave. I've never met anybody like you before. I really wanted to do something to help you. If I had done anything, it would have been my mother who would have borne the consequences. It would not have matter if 'he' would have killed me, I didn't want anything to happen to my mother."_

_ He continued. "After a point of time, your screams started piercing me and I was almost about to stun my aunt. But thank Merlin, Potter and Weasley found a way out and your torture stopped. I never felt more relieved in my life. That was the first time, I started to believe that the light side may have a chance to win the war."_

_It was so unreal to have Malfoy come and apologise to me. Apologise for something he didn't do. For the first time, I felt like he regarded me like a human being. Also for the first time, I liked the words that came out of his mouth. I felt oddly comforted. Since the incident, Harry and Ron have been trying to their best to make me forget it. I know, they mean good but I can't just turn a switch off and make myself forget. It takes time._

_"Thanks. It means a lot coming from you."_

_"So, am I forgiven?"_

_"You didn't torture me. So, there's really no question of forgiving you for it." I clarified._

_"I didn't do anything to stop it either." He argued._

_"You were worried for your mother, I guess, I would have done the same thing if I were in your place."_

_"Really?" He seemed surprised by my confession. _

_Oh boy! He has no clue to what lengths I can go to save my parents. "Yes." I answered tentatively._

_"Am I forgiven for the other things I've said and done since the first year?" He sounded doubtful._

_How can I let him off so easily? I smiled. "Well, you'll have to apologise for all the things you've said and done in the past if you want me to forgive you."_

_He looked down. He looked like he was scratching the back of his neck. When he looked up at me again, he had a smile on his face. A real smile. "I suppose your right about that. Hermione Granger, please will you forgive me all the things I've said and done in the past? I will try not to repeat them again." He added that for good measure._

_World as I know it has come to an end! Malfoy apologised to me twice, in one day! I pretended to think for a while. My first thought – why am I talking to Malfoy like he is an old friend? Everybody deserves to start over if they are really willing. "You're forgiven." He smiled. "But remember and remember good! If you sidestep even once, I'm going to 'unforgive' you."_

_"You have my word. I'll try and behave." He smiled at me. "I'll be going now. I've a lot of apologies to make."_

_"On an apology spree, are you?"_

_He laughed. "Yup, something like that. See you around." He turned around and moved away._

After that, I realised that my nightmares about that particular day have considerably reduced. All people need is – 'closure'.

* * *

**Ron**

Harry and I were sitting on our usual seats by the fire. We were waiting for Hermione. There was something that has been bothering me since the morning. I didn't know how to bring it up. I was thinking of various topics I could start off with.

"What is it, Ron?" Why does he have to put me on the spot?

I took my time in answering. Think of something. Think of something. "What were you and Greengrass chatting about in the morning?"

"That's what you wanted to ask?" I shrugged. "We bumped into each other. We made small talk for the heck of it. It was nothing."

"Hmmm…She looked pretty dazed by you." She did look dazed. I'm not joking about that.

Harry smiled shyly. "You think so?" I nodded. "She is pretty cute."

"Does that mean you and Ginny are done?" It's the most uncomfortable situation to have your best mate date your only sister. I just need to know that it's finally over and I don't need to worry about that.

He looked embarrassed. "Ron, after the war, a lot of things changed. We went through a lot of things. She went through different things. We were not able to talk to each other about it. We tried but it was so awkward. We need different things in life. I don't know how to explain it but as of now, I don't see Ginny and I reconsidering our relationship."

That was a long explanation. "I understand, mate. The war messed us up in different ways. Maybe that's the reason Hermione and I could not work it out."

He nodded. "We are all looking for something different."

Now is the time, I should ask him. "Harry, have you ever noticed Pansy Parkinson?"

"What's there to notice about her? She's always got her nose in the clouds."

"Maybe in the past, yes. But today she looked so hot at the platform." Oh yes! She did.

"Did you ask me about Greengrass because you wanted to discuss Parkinson?" Harry questioned me.

"No. Why would you think that? She is pretty. Maybe because it was the first time ever I saw her wearing muggle clothes. She was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, a hoodie and sneakers. Yet she looked beautiful." I told him.

"Parkinson was wearing muggle clothes? Wow! Wait! Now that I think about it, even Greengrass was muggle clothes." Harry mused.

"From what I heard dad telling mum, Pansy and Daphne have been disowned by their families. They are apparently going through some rebellious phase."

"Ron, just because they rebelled a little, it doesn't justify their families in disowning them."

"It all started when they agreed to help with the restoration and then they took off with other Slytherins for a holiday against their families' wishes." I informed him. The wizarding world has reduced so much in size that word travels quicker these days.

"They got disowned just for this?" Harry sounded surprised.

"Mate, just because my family is open to a lot of concepts, it doesn't mean all the pureblood families are open. In a lot of pureblood families girls are not even allowed to wear pants, so, you can imagine how they would react if their daughters went off on holidays with friends."

Harry looked shocked. He shook his head. "Getting back to our topic. So, you like Pansy Parkinson now?"

I didn't say anything. He waited for me to say something and when I didn't, he said, "Good luck, mate. You're gonna need it if you want to pursue Pansy Parkinson."

* * *

**Chapter 25! yeah! I was going through horrible writer's block that's why it took me so long to post this chapter, sorry!Please stay with me, the story will get better!**

**Please read and review, follow or mark it as your favourite! Thanks for reading! enjoy!**

**Neepa :-)**


	26. Revelations

Chapter 26 : Revelations

**Blaise**

It's been a few days since school started. The professors have no mercy on us. There is so much homework plus I'm also a prefect now. I have patrol every weeknight not on weekends – Thank Merlin! The best thing about this year – the sixth and seventh years can go to Hogsmeade every weekend. Headmistress McGonagall said that since most of us off age now, it would be impractical let us out only on fixed Hogsmeade weekends. But, honestly, if we have so much homework and assignments, then how will we go out to Hogsmeade every weekend? I don't think I've spent so much time in the library as I've done in these few days! I hope, it's worth it!

Now that Draco has his own dorm, it's just the four of us in our Slytherin room. We hang out a lot at Draco's dorm though! It's super comfortable and warm. Granger doesn't seem to have a problem with us hanging out there. I guess, it's because she has her friends over as well. I see, Granger being more attentive towards Draco. But Drake is still pretty much caught up on Pari, like I'm caught up on Ginny. So, he doesn't pay much attention to Granger.

Speaking of Ginny, I was so surprised to see her talking to Theo like he was an old friend. I felt threatened. So, I decided it would be best to talk it out with him. I put my hand around his shoulder and asked, "Theo, you didn't tell me that you were friends with Ginny Weasley?"

"Yes we are." He looked a little uncomfortable saying it.

"How come you never mentioned it to me before?"

"We started talking last year. You know, during the war, I needed somebody to talk to and she needed somebody to talk to, that's how we became friends."

Not the answer I was looking for but now I know how they became friends. "Okay. For a moment there, I thought you have a crush on her." I joked. He didn't say anything or laugh with me. "Dude, is there something you're not telling me?"

"Look Blaise, with the war and everything I realised that there's no point in lying and hiding things. So, I'm just going to say it to you. I like her. I've liked her for a long time." He told me about the first time he saw her in Diagon Alley all those years back.

I took a deep breath. "I don't know what to say."

"I know, I like her but I'm not sure if I want to act on my feelings. I know how much you like her." He said earnestly. I smiled and nodded at him and went out for a walk.

That's the thing - I'm not as sure I was before. Ever since that day I bumped into Lovegood at the station, I've been having doubts. During breakfast, lunch and dinner, I start off by looking at Ginny but my eyes move on to Lovegood on their own accord. Her eyes are just so soft and delicate. Since that day, I've not spoken to her again but I've stopped a lot of people from calling her 'Loony'. I almost cut points from someone for calling her 'Loony'. What has she done to me?

There are times when Ginny and Lovegood are together and I end up observing Lovegood a lot more than Ginny. While, Ginny is fiery and strong, Lovegood is dreamy, unyielding and constant. Let me not forget that she's damn beautiful. I walked out of the castle for fresh air. I need to clear my head. I saw a flash of red a little ahead. "This is a good opportunity to talk to her." I told myself.

"Weaslette." I called out.

She turned around and raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you talking to me?"

"I don't see anyone else here." I shrugged.

"My name's Ginny, not Weaslette." She sounded a bit harsh. That's what I like about her. If she doesn't like anything she just says it on your face.

I raised my hands in defeat and said, "Fine, Ginny! Is that better?"

"Much better." She gave her approval with a nod.

"So, what are you doing her all alone? Aren't you always surrounded by your friends?"

"I needed some time for myself."

We walked in silence towards the Quidditch pitch. I didn't know if I wanted to break this silence. I had no idea what got into me, I turned to face her and kissed her. After the initial shock, she gave in and kissed me back. Just when I thought about deepening the kiss, she started pushing me off her. I stopped. I hate forcing myself on someone. When I'm kissing a girl, I don't want to make that girl uncomfortable.

She had her wand out and pointed it at me and shouted, "What do you think you are doing?"

I took my wand out too, just to be safe. "I have no idea. I didn't want it to happen this way. It was wrong. I'm sorry. I've always liked you. But I guess, this is not the right way to tell you, is it?" What happened to the smooth Blaise that I've always known?

She blushed a little, "No, it's not the right way to tell me that. I thought, you like Luna."

I snorted. "What made you think that?"

"Well, I saw lose your temper on a fourth year just because he called Luna 'Loony'. I don't see why you'd lose it if you don't like her?" She explained.

I didn't know what to say. "I yelled at a fourth year kid because he called her 'Loony'?" She nodded. I was shocked. "I just did it because I don't think a war heroine should be treated like that." I tried to say it nonchalantly.

She raised her eyebrow at me. "Right! And I believe you! Are you blind? You clearly like her. You're just denying it because you've not realised it yet."

What is that supposed to mean? "No. All these years, I've liked you. I didn't say anything because of all these differences…" I knew the words I wanted to tell her. I've been rehearsing this for quite some time now. But even as I started telling her my speech, I realised I don't feel the same way anymore. I thought about the kiss, it was not as good as I anticipated it would be. That doesn't mean I like Luna.

"Ya! That's what I thought!" She said. "I don't think you like me as much as Luna." She smirked.

"Okay, me not liking you as much as I used to has nothing to do with Lovegood." I'm gonna kill you Lovegood.

"Hey your secret's safe with me." She was really getting on my nerves with the whole Luna thing.

* * *

**Ginny**

Blaise looked pretty flustered. I've always seen him being very calm and collected. This is the first time, I'm seeing him not being in control of himself. To be honest, I found this very adorable. I don't deny that he is a very attractive guy but I just don't feel that way about him. A certain dark haired boy with brown eyes is the reason, I suppose.

He was my solace last year. Everybody around me was feeling the same things so we were not in a place to comfort each other. But comfort comes from unexpected places and people. I got used to talking to him. I got comfortable with talking to him about my fears, crying in front of him out of fear and worry for my family. He comforted me like nobody else could.

Though I'm really flattered that Blaise has a crush on me, I don't think I'm ready to think about someone else before I figure out my feelings for Theo. I'm not sure they are purely platonic. Besides from what I've seen Blaise seems to be into Luna. "Luna's single by the way." I informed Blaise.

He looked perplexed. "Why are you telling me this? But I thought she was with Longbottom."

"No. Neville started dating Hannah after the war." I corrected him.

"Hannah as in Abbot? From Hufflepuff?" He asked. I nodded. He was quiet. "So, you don't like me at all?" He gave me a shy smile.

I smiled. "Blaise, I've always found you attractive but I've never really been inclined towards you." I'm not sure if my words even made sense.

"Like you've been 'inclined' towards a certain friend of mine?" He smirked.

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Better to play dumb.

"Right! So, if I were to set Theo up on a date with Astoria or someone else, you would not be affected at all, would you?"

I bit my bottom my lip. I wanted to say that it would bother me. I shook my head. "No." I said in a low voice.

He laughed. "You words don't match the expression on your face."

"Okay, fine you got me! What are you going to do about it?" I dared him.

He looked amused. "Nothing. Who am I to do anything? It's between you and Theo."

"So you don't have a problem if Theo and I were to go out? Hypothetically of course!" I asked.

"Well since I can't force you to go out with me, I don't see how it is my problem if you go out with someone else? But if you do decide to go out with Theo then I would say don't hurt him. He's a pretty sensitive guy though he doesn't really show that side of him much." He explained.

* * *

**Ron**

"Ron, when did you learn table manners?" Hermione asked me.

Harry snorted. I gave her a look and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I've been telling you for years to not talk when you have food in your mouth and now suddenly you're doing it." Hermione pointed out

"Seems like he's trying to get somebody's attention." Harry hinted.

"Harry!" I exclaimed.

"What?" Hermione asked. She smiled and said, "Ron, if you're trying to gain Lavender's attention then trust me, you don't have to do this." She chuckled.

"Hermione, you're living in the past. Lavender is not the girl." Harry said, infuriating me even more.

"Harry's just joking, Hermione." I gave Harry a hard stare. It didn't seem to work because he was completely unaffected.

"Who is it, Harry?" Hermione sounded eager.

"Harry, don't you dare!" I warned him.

"Mione, are you seriously telling me that you have not observed him looking at someone a lot these days?"

She blushed a little. "Hmmm…not really!"

"That's because she's been busy observing someone else." I pointed out. I was only making a guess. I'm not really sure if she's interested in anyone.

She blushed even more. Ever since we went on the run, we have been able to read each other much better. My guess was right. "Uhhh…no…no such thing!"

"Mione, you're lying. Who is it?" Harry asked.

"We were talking about Ron here! First, you tell me who's the girl that Ron fancies." She was trying desperately to not talk about herself.

"Will you tell us whom you fancy after I tell you?" I asked.

She thought for a while. Then she let out her hand and said, "Deal."

We shook hands and I said, "Deal."

"Continue. I'm waiting." Mione said impatiently.

"What? Do I have to tell you now?" I asked trying to get out of it.

She glared at me. "Fine, don't tell me! Harry, tell me, please!"

"I have no issues in telling you. I would love to see the look on your face when I tell you the name." I knew Harry said that only so he could give me a chance to do it myself.

"I'll tell you." I gave in. I could see the curiosity in her eyes. "It's Pansy Parkinson."

She stood up and shouted, "What?" Everybody was looking at us. Her face went Weasley red and she said, "Sorry, please go back to eating." She sat down.

"Were you going to announce it to everybody?" I interjected.

"Sorry Ron! I just didn't expect you to tell me her name." Mione confessed.

"It's okay, Mione! You didn't really do much harm." Harry pointed out.

"But Ron, she wanted to hand Harry over to Voldemort during the war, remember?" She looked frantic.

"She apologised after the war." Harry added.

"See. Now you don't have anything against her."

"Thank God, she apologised! Now I can't find any faults with her." She rolled her eyes. We didn't say anything for a few minutes. "I guess, apologising is a start though it does not make everything go away." She reflected.

"I agree with that. At least they are trying not to be mean again after apologising. I could get used to this peace." Harry said.

"So Pansy, ah!" She said.

"Yes. I hope it's okay. I mean, I hope your cool with this." I wanted to clear the air.

"Ron, we are very cool. What we had was just an awkward phase."

"Good, now that we have cleared that. You tell us, whom do you like." Harry was moving his eyebrows up and down.

"Oh ya!" I exclaimed.

"Guys, it's not something that a girl shares with her guy friends." She looked down at her plate as she said that.

"Stop with the lame excuse, Mione!" I said.

"Come on, Mione! Tell us! We always tell the girls we have a crush on." Harry tried to convince her.

"Okay! But don't judge me!" We both nodded our heads. "It's Malfoy."

Certainly didn't expect his name! Neither of us said anything for a while. "Harry, Ron, are you both going to say anything?" She whispered.

Harry was serious, "Are you serious?" He asked with concern. "I don't have a problem if you and Malfoy start dating in the future. I just want to know if that's what you want." I nodded in agreement.

"I understand why you both are worried but I like him. He has changed so much. He doesn't say mean things to me anymore. He helps with every task that McGonagall has given us. He's doing really great with his Head Boy duties. It's like I'm seeing the real him now. He's so dedicated."

"Well, if this makes you happy, Mione, Harry and I always going to support you." I said.

"Look at the both of you. Pining for Slytherins. Who would have thought!" Harry joked.

"Yes, and a Slytherin is pining for you. Speaking of her, she's looking at you again." I told Harry.

* * *

**Pansy**

I don't understand why Weasley keeps staring at me? It's getting on my nerves. And to top it off, I've patrol duties with him for two weeks. No prefect is paired with somebody from their own house. I respect Weasley for his deeds during the war. But there's just something I don't like about him, I can't pinpoint it.

"Daph, he's doing it again." I whispered into her ear.

"What?" She was confused for a moment.

"Weasley! He's looking at me again." I elaborated.

"Pans, I think you're really being hard on the guy. I think he has a crush on you." Daph spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Daph, are you out of your mind? Why on earth would a war hero have a crush on me? Someone who was ready to hand over his best friend to the Dark Lord during the Battle of Hogwarts."

"Everybody has made mistakes in the past. And you apologised for it after the war. It's time to move on and embrace changes." Ever since the war ended, Daph has become one of those people who are filled with a tremendous amount of positive thoughts.

"This is Ronald Weasley we are talking about." I stated.

"When did I say we were talking about Dean Thomas?" She retorted. "Pans, there's no harm in getting to know somebody. How well do you know him that you've already dismissed him?"

She surprises me a lot these days. But what she said was true. I hardly know him. And I've to admit it the attention feels good. A little annoying but good. "I think you're right! I can't judge him without knowing him." I looked at him. He was still looking at me. He smiled tentatively at me. I smiled back at him. He looked delighted.

"What are you both whispering about?" Trace asked us.

"It's nothing." I said quickly.

"Somebody has a crush on Pans!" Daph said in a singsong voice. I gave her a glare.

"Are you talking about Weasley?" Millie asked.

I was shocked. "You know?"

"A lot of people have been speculating about Weasley having a crush on you." Trace informed me. "The way he looks at you, it's so cute! A lot of people have noticed it."

Okay! I have just come to terms with it and everybody is already making speculations. What if somebody from my family finds out? Mother will not just 'avada' me but she'll 'avada' him as well. Better yet, she would hire somebody to do it.

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**Please read and review! thanks for reading! enjoy!**

**Neepa :-)**


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